For most of the country, September signals the end of summer’s dog days and a return to fuzzy sweaters, chilly evenings, and, of course, pumpkin spice everything (this is America, after all).
But before those first autumn leaves begin to fall, it’s crucial to take a few steps to stave off any cold weather home breakdowns. Luckily, we’re here to make it as easy as possible for you with our handy checklist of home maintenance chores to tackle this month. These quick, relatively painless tasks can potentially save you major repair costs down the road.
1. Check walkways for cracks
“Before the grass is covered with snow, or it’s too cold to venture outside, check walkways for cracks and loose paver material,” says Ryan Williams, general manager of 128 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric. “Fix walkway and entryway areas before slippery weather can cause a tripping or falling accident.”
Call in a pro: Serious cracking and concrete damage will require professional repair—expect to spend north of $1,000, although exact costs will depend on the severity of damage and cost of materials and labor in your area.
2. Clean and repair the siding
“After a long summer, siding can become dirty or mildewed,” says Chris Granger, vice president and general manager of Sears Home Services.
September is a great time to use a pressure washer to clean it up—and inspect for more serious problems before winter comes. Check first for rotten or warped areas, and inspect your caulking, which can shrink and crack over time.
DIY: You don’t necessarily have to shimmy up a ladder for a close-up of your siding; the pros we talked to recommend using a smartphone camera or drone to zoom in on problem areas. Inspect the butt joints where two pieces of siding meet and, if you spy cracks, consider tackling the job yourself.
How? A day ahead, thoroughly wash your work surface with soapy water. Once the area is completely dry, squeeze a bit of caulk into the gap in the siding, then smooth it with your finger. Wipe it once more with a damp sponge to even out your work.
(Pro tip: Be sure to never caulk the underside of your siding, which could prevent the boards from expanding and contracting during changing weather.) Once you’ve fixed any problem areas, let everything set for a few days. Then follow up with a good pressure wash (you can rent a machine for around $35).
Call in a pro: If your siding has seen better days (think missing, bent, or cracked pieces), consider replacing it. As a general rule, fiber cement siding is priciest, followed by wood, aluminum, and vinyl. Replacing vinyl siding on an average 2,200-square-foot home will set you back more than $6,500 (in addition to the cost of removing existing materials). If you choose wood or fiber cement siding, you’ll likely spend twice that. For an expert pressure washing, expect to spend $100 to $300.
3. Check and repair leaky faucets
“Before the temperatures start to dip, examine leaky faucets in the kitchen, bathrooms, and utility room locations,” Williams says. “Most likely, whatever time and money you spend now will be considerably less than a broken pipe in the dead of winter.”
DIY: Just turn on the faucet, turn it off, and watch for any telltale dripping. Your fix might be as easy as replacing the washers on the faucet’s knobs, or you might have a worn cam washer, valve seat, or spring. We have you covered with our step-by-step guide to fixing a leaky faucet.
Call in a pro: If you’d rather not deal with it yourself, you can always hire a plumber. Estimates for fixing leaks vary, but expect to spend at least $100.
4. Make sure windows are sealed tight
All double- or triple-pane windows should have a tight seal around their perimeter that separates the individual panes of glass and traps inert gas between them, providing a break between the temps inside and outside your home. If you notice that your windows are frequently foggy, that’s likely a sign of a failed seal.
DIY: Try cashing in on your windows’ warranty first; many companies will cover failed seals for a decade or longer.
Call in the pros: If your warranty won’t cover a total replacement, check out a professional window defogging company. These pros will reseal the window’s perimeter and replace the gas between the panes for an average of $300 (depending on location and the number of windows).
5. Sweep the chimney
When temperatures finally fall, you’ll want to be ready to light your fireplace. But before your first toasty blaze of the season, make sure your chimney has been cleaned.
“Built-up soot in your chimney can increase your risk of a chimney fire, and a clogged chimney can also increase the presence of carbon monoxide in your home by not allowing it to escape when you have a fire burning in the fireplace,” says Lindsey Pasieka of ConsumerSafety.org.
Call in the pros: No DIY here—leave this (dirty) job to a pro, who’ll charge an average of $225 for an inspection and sweep.
6. Change the air filters and tune up the furnace
This one really should be a maintenance task you do every month, Granger says. Dirty air filters can lead to higher energy bills and irreparably damage your HVAC system.
DIY: Changing your air filter is a fairly straightforward task—just be sure to check the size of your existing filter before you hit the hardware store. Pros also recommend removing all vent covers and vacuuming pet dander, hair, and other debris that can accumulate and gunk up your HVAC system.
Call in the pros: Take things a step further by hiring a professional to tune up your unit before winter arrives. A good contractor will ensure your thermostat is working properly, fix loose electrical connections and gas connections, and check your unit’s blower motor and heat exchanger. Expect to spend $80 to $150.
7. Service the yard equipment
Autumn—not spring—is actually the best time to show some love to your lawn equipment before you put it away for winter.
“It’s harmful for equipment to sit all winter long with old oil in the case and dirt on the other components,” says Lisa Turner, author of “House Keys: Tips and Tricks From a Female Home Inspector.”
DIY: Change your oil and filter, replace air and gas filters, and install new blades if necessary. Then perform the lubrication and adjustment maintenance required by your equipment’s manual. But you don’t want to drain the gas tank completely, Turner says. Instead use a premium gasoline without ethanol but with a gas preservative. Just before you store it, fill the tank with this mix.
Call in the pros: If your unit won’t start or turn over, the cost for a lawn mower repair pro will run about $35 to $115. If your lawn mower’s engine needs to be replaced, you could shell out $800 to $900 for a new engine.
The Caton Team is comprised of Susan and Sabrina Caton – a mother/daughter in law team. We are full time, local Realtors with over 25 years of combined Real Estate experience. How can The Caton Team help you?
The internet makes shopping for everything in life so easy. And while there are no major surprises when purchasing toilet paper or cleaning supplies, buying furniture and home decor online can prove a bit tricky. Is that sofa more of a cream, taupe or oatmeal? Will those barstools really fit under the counter? So we asked Michele Hofherr, co-founder of the online-only home goods consignment shop Previously Owned by a Gay Man, to weigh in with her tips about what not to do. Here’s what she has to say.
MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SIZE AND SCALE
It is virtually impossible to look at a chair online and know if it will fit with a table or desk in your home. That’s why a measuring tape is essential. Look carefully at the dimensions listed online and then physically measure them out at home to make sure the piece is the right size for your space before clicking purchase. And if you are buying a chair to fit with a desk, don’t forget to check the arm measurements to make sure they’ll fit under the desk comfortably.
FORGETTING TO CHECK ON QUALITY
That distressed leather loveseat you’ve got your eyes on may look like the perfect piece for your home, but just because it looks good online doesn’t mean it will necessarily live up to expectations in person. As the saying goes, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Do your due diligence: Research the manufacturer (the company one keeps can be very revealing) and look for material content. Make sure the item that looks like wood is indeed made from real wood, or that a rug that appears to be wool isn’t actually made from man-made fibers.
IGNORING SHIPPING AND RETURN POLICIES
It’s easy to get caught up in the price of shipping and forget to ask or look into how an item will be shipped. This is especially important with large, heavy or awkwardly shaped items. Ask how long shipping will take (if not explained on the site), and, for large items, if white-glove delivery is available. When dealing with an individual seller, it might also be wise to ask who is liable should any damage occur in transit.
MISJUDGE COLOR ACCURACY IN ONLINE IMAGES
This is a tricky one. Colors can appear very different online because of lighting, camera flash or photo editing. If possible, request a color swatch that you can hold up in your own space, or look for additional shots of the item elsewhere online.
FAIL TO FIND OUT WHETHER ANY ASSEMBLY IS REQUIRED
Very often, a piece of furniture may look like it would come in one piece, but when you read the fine print, you see two sometimes-scary words: assembly required. Rather than leave it up to surprise, try calling and talking to a customer service representative who can provide specific details about what work you’ll need to do on your end. Pro tip: Consider buying previously owned or vintage pieces because you’ll rarely need to assemble a thing.
It’s always fun to explore new areas with clients. Today we ventured off into the Santa Cruz mountains to see a piece of land. Let me just say – as a married woman – this must be what it is like to online date. The photo and the description did not match in person.
We were so excited as we turned onto the road, meandered through the canopy of trees where shadow and light danced and. As we fast approached the address, the creek came into view, then the for sale sign at the end of the road. I grabbed my backpack and camera, tightened up the shoes – I was ready to survey the land. Then we realized we were looking at it. The useable lot was no bigger than a family room. Most of thee land was up hill – to say the least. It wasn’t what we expected. We found what once was the foundation of a home long before. Now complete ruins. Made me feel a bit like Indiana Jones – standing there – looking at what just 30 years can do to a piece of land and wonder – what the heck was that?
So – this isn’t the piece of land we’re looking for – but it did make for a fun adventure. It’s the best part of the journey – exploring new areas with trusted clients. As Susan and I always say – have pen will travel – it’s a Reatlor Life – someone has got to do it.
If you’re considering a low down payment mortgage—less than 20%–you may have heard you’ll need to pay mortgage insurance (also known as MI, private mortgage insurance or PMI, and mortgage insurance premium or MIP) in addition to your monthly mortgage payment. While it adds another monthly payment to your mortgage, it may also help you get in a home sooner. Let’s look at your options and some hidden benefits of MI.
What is mortgage insurance?
MI helps manage risk for your lender and protect them if you fail to repay the mortgage, making the loan safer for investors. Investors have set parameters that loans must meet before they are purchased. One key parameter is that the mortgage has a loan-to-value ratio of at least 80%, meaning that the borrowers have made a 20% down payment.
MI was created to help more buyers get over that hurdle and afford to buy a home. With MI, you can put down less than 20% and still become a homeowner.
But, is MI really worth it or should you wait until you have 20% down?
Benefits of mortgage insurance
Before you write off mortgage insurance, let’s look at how it may provide valuable opportunities and options to you as a homebuyer.
Increased buying power. Say you’ve saved $20,000. You can use that cash to put 20% down on a $100,000 home OR you could make a smaller down payment on a more expensive home — for example, 10% down on a $200,000 home.
Expanded cash-flow options. Using MI to finance your mortgage, you can elect to put less money down and still have funds for home-related purchases and repairs or investments. For example, rather than putting 20% down ($40,000) on a $200,000 home, you could put down 10% ($20,000) and use the other $20,000 to remodel.
Lower monthly payments. If you have good credit, you may be eligible for lower borrower paid MI rates.
Predictable monthly payments. A fixed-rate mortgage with MI provides you with a locked-in monthly payment that will not increase and that will be reduced when MI coverage is cancelled.
Mortgage insurance may be cancelled. On most loans with MI, coverage must automatically be cancelled by the lender when the loan reaches 78% of original value through amortization. MI also may be cancelled when extra payments bring the loan below 80% of original value. Contact your loan servicer for a full description of cancellation requirements.
FHA or Conventional loan?
FHA is known for their low down payments for first-time homebuyers, but consider all your options. Many conventional fixed rate loans offer lower than FHA’s 3.5% down. Plus, when you use a fixed rate loan and borrower paid MI, you can cancel your mortgage insurance when you reach 20% equity in your home. With FHA, you must continue to pay MI for the life of the loan.
Down payment programs can give you a boost
Don’t overlook the homeownership programs available in every community. These programs offer grants and loans that can fund your closing costs and down payments, helping supplement your down payment savings and get you closer to that 20% threshold faster. Find out what programs may be in your area.
How do you pay for MI?
Talk to your lender about MI plans available. There are borrower paid and lender paid plans. If you have a higher credit score, you may get a reduced rate with a borrower paid plan. With lender paid plans, the MI premium is usually built into the mortgage interest rate or the origination fee. If a lender says they have a “no MI” option, look at all the fees and ask how MI is calculated.
Should you buy now or wait?
Take some time to evaluate your personal situation. Interview multiple lenders and shop your loan. It’s important to get your financing locked down before you begin shopping for homes. MGIC, a mortgage insurance provider, offers a calculator that can help you assess whether you should buy now or wait.
Contact The Caton Team any time with all your Real Estate questions.
The Caton Team is comprised of Susan and Sabrina Caton – a mother/daughter in law team. We are full time, local Realtors with over 25 years of combined Real Estate experience. How can The Caton Team help you?
Testimonials From Our FANTASTIC Clients 2023 and beyond…
“Sabrina went above and beyond in helping us sell our home. Due to the pandemic, we were trapped across the country, and Sabrina helped us with virtually every aspect of prepping the home for sale before listing. She gave honest and excellent advice on what would be cost-effective to update prior to the sale. The home attracted a lot of attention, more than we anticipated, and we had showings every 30 minutes all day until our offer date was set. We were thrilled to sell our home way over our asking price, much higher than our expectations! We highly recommend the Caton team!”
– Katherine 2021
– Talin in 2020
Outstanding relators. Sabrina was an excellent communicator with us, and a fierce negotiator on our behalf. Having Susan’s expertise made us stronger each step of the way. Sabrina and Susan first impressed us with their clear knowledge and strong experience, as well as their warmth. They showed clear willingness to understand us as clients and support us in our goal of buying in SF, even when it appeared out of reach. Even though they are based on the Peninsula, they both demonstrated a strong understanding of the SF market and instantly built an effective working relationship with the sellers agents, or strengthened an existing relationship. When it was clear we needed to make a change in our search, Sabrina was understanding and helped guide us to a house we ADORE. Sabrina and Susan quickly sized up properties we were interested in and provided us with factual, detailed responses to help us make decisions about proceeding with properties. Sabrina was clear, thorough and direct in reviewing disclosures with us and helped us as first time buyers to feel comfortable with the process, especially in managing contingencies and the risks involved. Sabrina is highly organized and timely in writing offers, she even knew how to make our letters to the sellers stronger. Sabrina wowed us with her negotiating and advocacy for us with the sellers agent. We were overall thrilled with Sabrina and Susan’s work and will definitely work with them again in the future.
– J.R. in 2021
“The Caton Team was great. They took care of everything quickly and professionally. There were no surprises because they have an impeccable attention to detail. They pricing advice they gave us was spot on.”
Cindy & Ryan 2021
“The Caton Team is UNBELIEVABLE! As first-time homebuyers, we had a lot of questions and worries. Sabrina and Susan guided us expertly through each step of the way. From start to finish, our journey with The Caton Team exceeded our expectations. Sabrina and Susan work tirelessly for their clients, have incredible communication skills, endless patience, and an incredible wealth of knowledge. They are both so personable, kind, and funny, which made working with them pure joy. Simply put, we would not be sitting in our dream home right now without them! I can’t recommend them highly enough – trust me when I say that you will be in the absolute best hands with Sabrina and Susan!”
– Sarah 2021
Sabrina, I’m very impressed by your dedication and how professional and respectful you are dealing with other agents. I would pick you as my listing agent if I were a seller. Hope to work with you in the future.
– Fellow Realtor 2021
Sabrina and Susan are not only expert realtors with a wealth of knowledge of the Bay Area market, but they are also educators. They are patient, kind, and thorough as they guided us through buying our first ever home in the Bay Area. They also took the time to build relationships with other realtors that we met along the way and were always willing to share their knowledge and experience. They are also tenacious and always went the extra mile whenever needed to help us during all parts of the home-buying process. Sabrina and Susan really listened to what our priorities were as a family and guided us every step of the way. They worked at the pace we felt comfortable with and gave us positive encouragement when we needed it. Sabrina and Susan made the seemingly impossible, possible! We are forever grateful to them for helping us to buy our first home! We would and have highly recommended Sabrina and Susan to close friends. Thank you Sabrina and Sue!
– Cori – 2021
Sabrina and Susan were amazing partners in our first home buying experience. They were always available for questions we had and guided us through the unique experience of buying a house during a global pandemic. Fantastic experience overall and we would happily recommend to anyone in the Bay Area!
– Art – 2021
Sabrina and Susan were an incredible help in selling our house. They moved at the pace we needed and answered every question we had. They adapted to the difficulties of selling in 2020 with ease. FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for all your did helping us. I appreciate how patient you were throughout and how helpful you were to me personally.
– Ben in 2020
Sabrina and Sue did a great job of helping us sell our townhouse in San Mateo. While real estate can be challenging during Covid 19, Sabrina and Sue were well versed in all of the regulations and made the process very smooth. They advised us on how to stage the house to show it to its best advantages.They also advised us as to the best pricing strategies as we were under a time constraint to sell our house and buy another one within a very short timeframe. It took approximately 3 days from the time our house was put on the market to obtaining an offer. They were with us every step of the way and also helped us to find our new forever home.
– Pam in 2020
Sabrina and Sue were a great help in finding our new home in Danville. They sold our home in San Mateo within 3 days of listing it on the market. They were very knowledgeable about buying and selling during Covid 19. After deciding on our wish list of # of bedrooms and baths, desired location and price range; they worked with us to set up times for viewing within the scope of our wishlist. After viewing five homes, we decided to make an offer on one. We have now moved into our forever home, but it didn’t stop there. About three weeks after moving in, we experienced a problem with our air conditioner. Water leaking out of a light fixture in the ceiling! We texted Sabrina that evening and she contacted the home warranty company and made sure we had someone come and check out the problem the next day. The Caton team service did not stop with the handing over of the keys for which we are very appreciative. If you are looking to buy or sell, we would definitely give them a thumbs up!
– Pam in 2020
“We were wowed by The Caton Team, their skills in evaluating properties, negotiating with sellers agents and guiding us through the home buying process were outstanding.”
– Alex 2021
Was very satisfied with the performance and decisions made on the sale and purchase of the properties that we made. I would strongly recommend this team again.
– John 2020
“Sabrina and Susan were great advisors throughout the process of selling my old house and buying the new one. They helped me early on consider my options and timing, as well as helping me arrange my financial plan so I would be ready to pounce at the right opportunity. When the right house came along, they sprang into action, negotiating with years of local experience and knowledge of other realtors, but also ethics of honesty and fairness, which were important to me. I was particularly impressed with the professional, yet doggedly determined way they communicated with me and all the different partners in the process, from loan officers to escrow agents to the other parties’ realtors. In the end, I met all of my real estate goals thanks to their honest support and steady guidance.”
– Kit for Redfin Partnership with The Caton Team and Berkshire Hathaway 2020
“I have already recommended them to several people who plan to purchase homes in the next 5 years. They are wonderful, we consider them friends. My wife and I have worked with Sabrina and Sue to buy multiple houses and sell one. 11 stars. :)”
– Sean 2020
Sabrina and Susan helped me evaluate my buying needs and counsel me on the appropriate buying strategy for a competitive market. They helped me wait for the right time , but were also ready to pounce when the opportunity came. They were on top of all communications, including tricky ones with the solar company and escrow agent, which they negotiated with pleasant but dogged determination. Their combined knowledge and experience of the local agents gave me confidence throughout the process, and I particularly appreciated their ethical standards for transactions.
– Kit 2020
“Susan and Sabrina, The Caton (Dream)Team –
Thirteen years ago, we met Susan Caton who so kindly helped us find our first home in the Bay Area. She was mindful of our budget and attentive to our wish list. We landed a great starter home fit to our needs and close to work. In 2012, when it cametime to relocate into a neighborhood with great schools, we once again called upon Susan, who now was partner with her daughter-in-law, Sabrina, to find the right house for our growing family. First, Susan and Sabrina helped sell our house within 2 weeks time at a price within our expectations. Then, they delivered BIG by helping us find our next dream home in a competitive market with little time to spare knowing Facebook millionaires would soon bring stiff competition to the housing market. All along, even when our first two offers fell through, Susan and Sabrina helped us keep our focus and always had our best interest in mind. Settling for less than our hearts desired was not the answer, and our patience combined with our trust in Susan and Sabrina paid off when we stumbled upon our dream home. We can honestly say that working with The Caton Dream Team has been a true pleasure as it has enabled us to find a wonderful place to call home, not only once, but twice. When the time comes, we will gladly call upon their services again, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking to find their first or next dream home.”
– Heather R – 6.18.2013 via Zillow – 5 Stars
Sabrina and Sue recently helped us both sell our old home and purchase our new forever home.They were very knowledgeable about buying and selling during Covid 19.They advised us on staging our property to it’s best advantage as well as pricing for a quick sale.We were anxious to find anotherproperty to purchase within a quick turn-around.After setting the parameters of # of bedrooms and baths, location, and pricing; they worked with us to tour the homes in which we were interested.After viewing 5 homes, we made an offer and were in the process of closing within days.The service didn’t stop with the handing over of the keys.After living in our new place for about 3 weeks, we experienced a problem with the air conditioner with water leaking from a light fixture in the ceiling!We contacted Sabrina that evening and she worked with the warranty company to have someone come out to service it the next day!We give the Caton team a big thumbs up
– Pam B. 8.31.2020 via Zillow – 5 Stars
To The Future Clients of The Caton Team
Buying a house can be a very scary experience especially in the San Francisco Bay Area where very high stakes are involved.I have purchased home in other states and nothing was quite like it is here.
The Caton Team helped smooth and ease the way whenever there was a ‘pothole-in-the-road’ on the way to owning my home.It is nice having a “team approach” because I felt like I would receive two opinions that gave me different perspectives to look at.I was then ale to see through their eyes the ‘diamond in the rough’ and, what I could do with it.
I found them to be kind, caring, understanding and sensitive to my needs, informative, diligent and sympathetic to my situation.Their follow-through was great!They didn’t leaving me hanging with “I’ll get back to you.”They found the answers to all my questions and in a timely manner.
I felt they went above and beyond when I asked them to video tape an entire house, including a fuze box and “sniff” the craw space for me.I happened to be in another state at the time and needed them to act quickly because the property I was looking at was very active.This really helped because it made up my mind that I was gong to bid on it.
I liked the fact that, if I couldn’t reach Sabrina I could talk to Susan and, the messages got communicated between them. We were all on the same page!
I am so grateful that they were able to move quickly through the process so I could be in the game of the ‘biding war”.
And, as it turned out, with either advice I got the home I was bidding on and wanted!
Thank you Caton Team!
– Jenny B.
Sabrina and team are fantastic. Responsive, honest, transparent and efficient. She’s also well-connected in the real estate community on the peninsula – whether buying or selling, you can’t ask for better representation. I highly recommend her!
– Kenny H.
“The Caton Team were absolutely excellent. They are quick to respond to any issues or questions that I may had. They personally found places that were right for me in the places that I wanted to live in. I ended up buying a place at a much lower price than I initially thought I would have to pay. You can’t do wrong with them.”
– Tonton R. from Google – 5 stars
“Sabrina and Susan were very helpful and made the buying and selling my condo a very easy process. Any issues that came up, they were on top of it and handle the problems. When I had any questions, they were quick to respond. I highly recommend the Sabrina and Susan Caton.”
– Frank
Testimonial of the Day – from Mike on Google – 5 stars
“I can’t say enough about this awesome duo of Sabrina and Sue!! They are with you every step of the way. Answering all the question as well as helping with the emotional side of selling your home. Second time I have worked with them and would recommend highly!
“Another Happy Client.”
-Sean M.
“Sabrina was everything you want in a realtor…knowledgeable, courteous, went the extra mile , honest, patient and understanding to your needs. I would definitely utilize her services again if I ever needed them!”
– Jenny on Realtor.com
“Very honest.”
– Fredric & Heather R.
“Sabrina and Sue are a wonderful team. I never once felt ignored or at a loss. They held my hand the entire time and I’m so grateful for their help and knowledge in making this process so easy.”
– Brittany
To future clients of The Caton Team,
The Caton Team is made up of Susan Caton and Sabrina Caton, or as I like to refer to them as the Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They are trustworthy, honest, straight-forward, and experts in the real estate business. I might be a little biased, because of my friendship with them, but nothing will test a friendship more than the process of buying and selling a home. As everyone knows when you sell your home you want the most money for the least amount of effort and you want the process to be quick and smooth. The Caton Team will make sure you have all of the necessary information and knowledge to understand how to stage your home and what the process will be along with a realistic timeline of what you can expect. If you follow their directions and listen to what they say, your home selling experience will be painless and quick. For us this ended up being less than a week with our home selling for more than what we expected. The entire process from filling out the required paperwork to negotiating went smoothly and was overall painless on our end. At the end of the day we got more than what we wanted and were in a great position to start hunting for a new home.
This brings me to how The Caton Team helped us buy a new home for what we wanted, while making sure that we got the home that we wanted. Since we had already bought and sold our first home with The Caton Team, using them again to buy another house did not require much thought, actually required no thought. We went into the process wanting the best of the best in the best location, because who does not want that for themselves? They were kind enough to listen to our wants and desires and showed us what we could afford in the areas we were looking. It took a few homes to realize that our expectations were not in sync with the market, because currently in early 2015 homes are going like hot cakes and for more than what they are listed at by a fair amount.
This is when we sat down again and started looking at other areas that were just as nice, but we had ignored initially. The important part here is while they mentioned this information early on, they allowed us to realize it on our own that we needed to look outside of our ideal areas if we wanted our dream house. Once we realized what they were saying we expanded our search and found the home that we wanted. After our initial open house we contacted The Caton Team and informed them that we found the home that we wanted. This is when The Caton Team sprang into action, they immediately started requesting all of the disclosures from the seller’s agent and contacted the seller’s agent to gain any additional knowledge that might not be in the supplied paperwork. They then shared this information openly with us, as one would expect, and started laying down the groundwork of what we would need to do if we truly wanted this house. They supplied us with the tools necessary to make an informed decision and provided us with comparable sales (COMPS) in that particular area, so that we would have an idea of what houses were selling for and where the market was heading (spoiler alert, market was only going upwards). Their attention to detail and understanding of the market allowed us to make the best offer we could, while not overbidding or underbidding and making sure that we would have our offer accepted. As you have already guessed, our offer was accepted almost immediately and we are now homeowners of a home that we wanted in an area that is ideal.
If you have made it this far, then you realize why The Caton Team is really The Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They make sure you are provided with the proper tools and information to make the best decision for yourself. They will work tirelessly with you and will not be a 9-5 agent, they will be honest, trustworthy, and straight-forward. You will not feel like you are getting the short-end of the deal and at the end of the day you will feel great about your decision to work with The Caton Team.
-The Liere Family
“Sabrina and Susan of Berkshire Hathaway, were the perfect real estate agents for me. As a first-time buyer, I had very little knowledge of how the process of purchasing a home actually worked. They are friendly, approachable, patient, strategic and persistent. Sabrina maintained great communication throughout the entire experience. They always got back to me quickly and they were willing to meet or discuss potential condos that I selected as potential buys. She even recommended a lending agent in the area, which I ended up using. Without them edging me along, I’m fairly certain I would have given up, thinking this whole “buying a house” ordeal was not for me. It’s simply too difficult for a working person to complete on their own.
Now that I have purchased my condo, I’m happy to see that Sabrina is still involved. She has collected my new keys and mail, answered my escrow questions and will do the final walk through. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or use them again.”
– Ashley
“I worked with Sabrina and Sue a few years back and they were so professional. I was going thru a divorce and had to sell my condo. I was beyond upset. (Not because of the divorce but selling the condo) haha… Thru this difficult time they were so amazing and made me feel at ease. The housing market at that time was not the best but they did their best to make sure I got a good deal. The condo wasn’t on the market for too long and I was able to sell it for a decent price. Thank you to both for making that transition in my life a little easier. Definitely will be using them again if and ever I can buy again.”
-Elena
“We had a great experience buying a house through the Caton team. Sabrina and Susan were patient in answering our many questions, and helped guide us in the offer process to help win a bid on our second offer even in this crazy market! They are easy to get in touch with over email, text, or phone, and detail oriented to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. We’d highly recommend them!”
-Katherine
Hi Susan and Sabrina,
I just thought I’d take a moment to write you both to say how much of a pleasure it has been to once again have had another successful property transaction come to fruition with you both at the helm (yay, three now)!
I can’t say enough how Victor and I have been so happy you’ve been our representatives in both our buying and selling transactions, and that your dedication and hard work, creativity and professionalism have always made a world of difference all throughout the process of buying and selling our homes. From the smallest details like your fantastic web page ads and captioning to your weekly and continuous updates and presence at the property for showings and repairs. You’ve left nothing to chance!
It’s clear that experience counts, and your research and broad-based knowledge of the local real estate and larger markets in general, have always provided us with a solid backdrop from which we could make our decisions. You’ve always provided us with good information, solid recommendations, and I’m grateful that we had you both as our representatives.
Additionally, I want to say on a personal note, that you are both so considerate and thoughtful, and I always feel that we are in good hands when you’re on the job. Thank you again for this recent and very successful sale of our property, and we look forward to our continued relationship with you in future transactions.
I did not have your Broker’s contact information, but if you would please forward him/her this e-mail, I’d appreciate it, because I’d like them to know that you have permanent fans!
Thanks again, Helen and Victor
“Susan and Sabrina, The Caton (Dream)Team –
Thirteen years ago, we met Susan Caton who so kindly helped us find our first home in the Bay Area. She was mindful of our budget and attentive to our wish list. We landed a great starter home fit to our needs and close to work. In 2012, when it came time to relocate into a neighborhood with great schools, we once again called upon Susan, who now was partner with her daughter-in-law, Sabrina, to find the right house for our growing family. First, Susan and Sabrina helped sell our house within 2 weeks time at a price within our expectations. Then, they delivered BIG by helping us find our next dream home in a competitive market with little time to spare knowing Facebook millionaires would soon bring stiff competition to the housing market. All along, even when our first two offers fell through, Susan and Sabrina helped us keep our focus and always had our best interest in mind. Settling for less than our hearts desired was not the answer, and our patience combined with our trust in Susan and Sabrina paid off when we stumbled upon our dream home. We can honestly say that working with The Caton Dream Team has been a true pleasure as it has enabled us to find a wonderful place to call home, not only once, but twice. When the time comes, we will gladly call upon their services again, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking to find their first or next dream home.”
– Fredric and Heather R.
“I recently worked with The Caton team (Sabrina and Sue) to purchase my first home. I was referred to the team by a co-worker who had just purchased a condo with them. He had a great experience, and recommended them for their honesty, responsiveness and availability (even at night and weekends). I found this assessment to be 100% true.
I first met Sabrina and Sue when I was interviewing realtors. They recommended I come to their office for the interview. They were the only ones to recommend this, which already set them apart in my mind. During the interview they shared their process and approach and how our relationship would work. I decided to work with the Caton team for several reasons. 1) A great referral 2) Their open and honest personalities 3) Their sincere concern that I find exactly what I am looking for 3) Their combined years of experience and specialization in the peninsula.
After our first meeting, they set up their home search for the criteria we discussed. Part way through the search, my criteria changed, and they updated the search for the new criteria. Periodically, they would check in to see if I saw anything that I liked. We narrowed the search by going through what I liked and disliked about each listing that I reviewed online.
Sabrina and Sue answered all of my questions along the process. They came to the home inspection and to sign papers at title company. The title company representative that I signed papers with commented on how lucky I was to have my realtors there, looking out for my best interests, as a lot of first time buyers come alone, signing papers they don’t understand.
After receiving keys to my new home, the Caton team continued to support me. They referred me to painters their colleagues had worked with and found multiple contractors who would do the work I needed.
Sabrina and Sue are really easy to work with. It’s like talking with friends when I reach out to them. They are very approachable, trust worthy and hard working. They always answer questions I have or research to find the answers if they do not have them right away. I highly recommend them and will use them again for future real estate needs.”
– CJ T.
“The Caton team is awesome! Susan and Sabrina were an awesome fit for my husband and I as first-time homebuyers, but I highly recommend them for anyone at any stage of buying a home. They went above and beyond to help us locate a wonderful home and took us step by step through the often confusing short sale process. It felt less like we were working with realtors and more like we were working with good friends or family! Thank you, thank you, Sabrina and Susan!”
-Marie B.
“If anyone can get it done quickly it would be you two. By far the best Realtors west of the Mississippi.”
– Josh L.
“The Caton Team is A-Number-One in our book. Susan and Sabrina are consummate Pros. They do exhaustive research, they know how to price a home in today’s competitive market, and they know how to stage a home for maximum buyer appeal. They’ve sold two homes for us, and we’re completely satisfied with everything they do. You go, girls!”
-Russ & Elena H.
“I met Sabrina and Susan during our recent rental home search. As we were not prepared for a move (current homeowners informed us that they were selling the house after 1 year of listing the home as a rental) we needed to act quickly and diligently to find our new home. My initial communications were with Sabrina as she was hosting an open house. Her emails were prompt and friendly and I got to know her a bit through email. When I met up with her for the open house, she was just as friendly in person as was her partner, Susan. They were welcoming throughout the process and provided wonderful thorough follow up on behalf of the homeowner. Susan made herself available on a Saturday morning for the signing of the lease and has been in contact with us as we prepare for the move-in. We have very much enjoyed working with the Caton Team and would recommend them for rental guidance and hopefully in the near future, home ownership!”
– Angela J.
“The Caton team has helped me find my perfect condo within a month of looking! And then later found me great tenants to rent it out. They work quickly and are very professional. Plus, these are just a pair of wonderful women to be around. They are very trustworthy and have their Clients’ best interest in mind. I will be using them again for all my real estate needs, and I recommend them to everyone else! Thank you so much!”
-Caitlin G.
“The Caton Team are the best. They are very easy to work with and know what they are doing. Made a very stressful time much easier! I would recommend them to all. First time buyers and people that have sold many times will enjoy working with these wonderful ladies!”
-Chris & Gary C.
“The Caton Team has helped us many times. Susan and Sabrina are wonderful and we will use them again when the time comes. They know everything about the bay area and never pressure you about making decisions. We couldn’t ask for a better team.”
-Elisa D.
“I’m pretty sure without The Caton Team we wouldn’t have been able to buy our house. We started looking right before the housing market crashed and was going back and forth on qualifying for a loan. They made it happen-it’s a long story and I can make short and sweet. Please use The Caton Team for you house buying needs! Really!”
– Nisi C.
“I can’t say enough about what an incredibly professional job Sabrina did; she went above and beyond the call of duty! We would not be in our house today were it not for her tireless efforts. She’s so knowledgeable and works tenaciously for her clients.
Thank you Sabrina!
– Rip R.
“Great working with you guys!”
-Aaron B.
“I have worked with many realtors during my 15 years as a mortgage broker and Sabrina Caton is by far one of the best real estate agents I have ever had the pleasure of working with on a number of purchase transactions over the years. She is upbeat and personable with a great sense of humor. She consistently works with her clients best interests in mind and is not afraid to tackle the tough deals. I have personally seen her negotiate to lower the purchase price by $25,000 after the contract was already signed when the buyers’ appraisal came in below the purchase price. You can count on Sabrina for high energy, professional real estate services!”
-Melanie Flynn – Windsor Capital
“Susan & Sabrina did an excellent job, I am very happy. I highly recommend them.”
– Heidi & Robert M.
“Susan & Sabrina were great, very helpful, and understanding. They were never pushy and made sure we were making the right choices at all times. We would use them again for our next property purchase.”
– Anthony D. & Elisa L.
“Susan & Sabrina did a wonderful job, they are easy to communicate with, they were willing to put in extra time and work in getting our house ready to sell.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“I knew I wanted to work with Susan immediately because she actually listened to our needs, and gave sound, practical advice and information without a sales pitch. I would recommend her to anyone. She was absolutely helpful and made the whole thing easy and painless. I didn’t worry about anything as long as she was working on it.”
– Alicia S. and John G.
“Sabrina did an excellent job, she went above and beyond from the beginning to the end of the transaction making sure we understood every detail. She made things very easy on us – we appreciate all her hard work. We used them for both our real estate deals.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“When we need to sale our home – we definitely will call them again!”
– Loyda C. & Carol J.
“We loved working with Susan. I feel I have gained a new friendship. She was totally honest and trustworthy. She made selling our home a pleasant experience.”
– Ken & Elain S.
“Susan went above and beyond what she had to do. She was the only help I had getting my parents home cleaned and emptied so I could sell. I live in Sacramento and didn’t have the time to get down to San Carlos. She truly was a “God Send”. She is FABULOUS! I can’t say enough about her! Please know you have one hell of a woman working for Prudential. Please make sure she receives kudos for a job well done!”
– Andrew R.
“Susan was always available to us, providing information and assurance during the selling process of our home. Thank You!
– Leo & Carlotta O.
“We felt very relaxed and trusted their personality.”
– William & Helen G.
“They did an excellent job and we would recommend them!
– Steve & Stacy G.
“Thank you – Flawless Service!”
– Danielle C. & Thomas G.
“I will recommend them to all my friends and family.”
– Diane S.
“We wanted to work with Sabrina. She was wonderful. She put up with lots of emotions / family dynamic around the sale of this home, as it was our families house. I appreciated her sensitivity and solid knowledge. We would be happy to work with her again and pass along any new clients as well.
– Nancy R.
“I highly recommend them!”
– Derek H.
“Susan helped us so much. She advised us and “rode” with us though the entire ordeal. She is a very “real” person and shares concerns. She advises and makes one feel extremely comfortable. I would recommend her to another person unconditionally. She is an excellent agent who goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
– Russ & Elena H.
“They were great. They made the entire process as fun and easy as it could be. Thank you!”
– Matthew S.
“Susan was extremely helpful in making our first move in 44 years painless. It was a major undertaking. Thank you!”
– Betty C.
“Very thorough. Informed me of the newest listings. Made intelligent recommendations and opinions on listings without being pushy. The attention given to me made me feel as if I were the only client. I am extremely satisfied with the service.”
– Toshinari K.
“They were very professional and helpful. We could not complete the transaction without them.”
– Takeshi & Nana M.
“We selected Susan over two other agents because we liked her better.”
– Daniel S.
“EXCELLENT JOB! Lots of support throughout the process! Great personalities and professionalism! Very responsive to our concerns during the sale – thank you!”
– Mike & Lynn A.
“Sabrina is a highly effective real-estate agent. She has in-depth of knowledge of the market, strong negotiation skills and provides highly personalized service…she really listens to the needs of her client and delivers based on those needs.”
– Elif S.
“I was impressed with the attention to detail throughout the sale process. True Professionals!
– John K.
“We were very happy with Susan as she helped us through a difficult situation. Thanks is just not enough to say for what she did!”
– Donald & Roseanna M.
“Definitely an asset to your company!”
– Rosemary P.
“They are such real / genuine people. I felt I could lean and trust them particularly with some very important but difficult to understand questions. They are WONDERFUL!”
– Patricia P.
“Susan has impeccable integrity, what a great individual. Thank you for a wonderful transaction.”
– Pamela G.
“What a great experience. I live 4 hours away and shopping for rentals is not easy. The Caton Team made my shopping experience less stressful. Always ready to answer any questions I had, anytime I had them. I highly recommend this Team.”
– Julienne E.
THANK YOU to our wonderful clients for taking the time to share your experience with The Caton Team. We appreciate you.
Got Real Estate Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.
We strive to be more than just Realtors – we are also your home resource. If you have any real estate questions, concerns, need a referral or some guidance – we are here for you. Contact us at your convenience – we are but a call, text or click away!
The Caton Team believes, in order to be successful in the San Fransisco | Peninsula | Bay Area | Silicon Valley Real Estate Market we have to think and act differently. We do this by positioning our clients in the strongest light, representing them with the utmost integrity, while strategically maneuvering through negotiations and contracts. Together we make dreams come true.
A mother and daughter-in-law team with over 35 years of combined, local Real Estate experience and knowledge – would’t you like The Caton Team to represent you? Let us know how we can be of service. Contact us any time.
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Sabrina and team are fantastic. Responsive, honest, transparent and efficient. She’s also well-connected in the real estate community on the peninsula – whether buying or selling, you can’t ask for better representation. I highly recommned her!
– Kenny H.
“Very honest.”
– Fredric & Heather R.
Sabrina and Sue are a wonderful team. I never once felt ignored or at a loss. They held my hand the entire time and I’m so grateful for their help and knowledge in making this process so easy.
– Brittany
To future clients of The Caton Team,
The Caton Team is made up of Susan Caton and Sabrina Caton, or as I like to refer to them as the Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They are trustworthy, honest, straight-forward, and experts in the real estate business. I might be a little biased, because of my friendship with them, but nothing will test a friendship more than the process of buying and selling a home. As everyone knows when you sell your home you want the most money for the least amount of effort and you want the process to be quick and smooth. The Caton Team will make sure you have all of the necessary information and knowledge to understand how to stage your home and what the process will be along with a realistic timeline of what you can expect. If you follow their directions and listen to what they say, your home selling experience will be painless and quick. For us this ended up being less than a week with our home selling for more than what we expected. The entire process from filling out the required paperwork to negotiating went smoothly and was overall painless on our end. At the end of the day we got more than what we wanted and were in a great position to start hunting for a new home.
This brings me to how The Caton Team helped us buy a new home for what we wanted, while making sure that we got the home that we wanted. Since we had already bought and sold our first home with The Caton Team, using them again to buy another house did not require much thought, actually required no thought. We went into the process wanting the best of the best in the best location, because who does not want that for themselves? They were kind enough to listen to our wants and desires and showed us what we could afford in the areas we were looking. It took a few homes to realize that our expectations were not in sync with the market, because currently in early 2015 homes are going like hot cakes and for more than what they are listed at by a fair amount.
This is when we sat down again and started looking at other areas that were just as nice, but we had ignored initially. The important part here is while they mentioned this information early on, they allowed us to realize it on our own that we needed to look outside of our ideal areas if we wanted our dream house. Once we realized what they were saying we expanded our search and found the home that we wanted. After our initial open house we contacted The Caton Team and informed them that we found the home that we wanted. This is when The Caton Team sprang into action, they immediately started requesting all of the disclosures from the seller’s agent and contacted the seller’s agent to gain any additional knowledge that might not be in the supplied paperwork. They then shared this information openly with us, as one would expect, and started laying down the groundwork of what we would need to do if we truly wanted this house. They supplied us with the tools necessary to make an informed decision and provided us with comparable sales (COMPS) in that particular area, so that we would have an idea of what houses were selling for and where the market was heading (spoiler alert, market was only going upwards). Their attention to detail and understanding of the market allowed us to make the best offer we could, while not overbidding or underbidding and making sure that we would have our offer accepted. As you have already guessed, our offer was accepted almost immediately and we are now homeowners of a home that we wanted in an area that is ideal.
If you have made it this far, then you realize why The Caton Team is really The Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They make sure you are provided with the proper tools and information to make the best decision for yourself. They will work tirelessly with you and will not be a 9-5 agent, they will be honest, trustworthy, and straight-forward. You will not feel like you are getting the short-end of the deal and at the end of the day you will feel great about your decision to work with The Caton Team.
-The Liere Family
“Sabrina and Susan of Berkshire Hathaway, were the perfect real estate agents for me. As a first-time buyer, I had very little knowledge of how the process of purchasing a home actually worked. They are friendly, approachable, patient, strategic and persistent. Sabrina maintained great communication throughout the entire experience. They always got back to me quickly and they were willing to meet or discuss potential condos that I selected as potential buys. She even recommended a lending agent in the area, which I ended up using. Without them edging me along, I’m fairly certain I would have given up, thinking this whole “buying a house” ordeal was not for me. It’s simply too difficult for a working person to complete on their own.
Now that I have purchased my condo, I’m happy to see that Sabrina is still involved. She has collected my new keys and mail, answered my escrow questions and will do the final walk through. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or use them again.”
– Ashley
“I worked with Sabrina and Sue a few years back and they were so professional. I was going thru a divorce and had to sell my condo. I was beyond upset. (Not because of the divorce but selling the condo) haha… Thru this difficult time they were so amazing and made me feel at ease. The housing market at that time was not the best but they did their best to make sure I got a good deal. The condo wasn’t on the market for too long and I was able to sell it for a decent price. Thank you to both for making that transition in my life a little easier. Definitely will be using them again if and ever I can buy again.”
-Elena
“We had a great experience buying a house through the Caton team. Sabrina and Susan were patient in answering our many questions, and helped guide us in the offer process to help win a bid on our second offer even in this crazy market! They are easy to get in touch with over email, text, or phone, and detail oriented to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. We’d highly recommend them!”
-Katherine
Hi Susan and Sabrina,
I just thought I’d take a moment to write you both to say how much of a pleasure it has been to once again have had another successful property transaction come to fruition with you both at the helm (yay, three now)!
I can’t say enough how Victor and I have been so happy you’ve been our representatives in both our buying and selling transactions, and that your dedication and hard work, creativity and professionalism have always made a world of difference all throughout the process of buying and selling our homes. From the smallest details like your fantastic web page ads and captioning to your weekly and continuous updates and presence at the property for showings and repairs. You’ve left nothing to chance!
It’s clear that experience counts, and your research and broad-based knowledge of the local real estate and larger markets in general, have always provided us with a solid backdrop from which we could make our decisions. You’ve always provided us with good information, solid recommendations, and I’m grateful that we had you both as our representatives.
Additionally, I want to say on a personal note, that you are both so considerate and thoughtful, and I always feel that we are in good hands when you’re on the job. Thank you again for this recent and very successful sale of our property, and we look forward to our continued relationship with you in future transactions.
I did not have your Broker’s contact information, but if you would please forward him/her this e-mail, I’d appreciate it, because I’d like them to know that you have permanent fans!
Thanks again, Helen and Victor
“Susan and Sabrina, The Caton (Dream)Team –
Thirteen years ago, we met Susan Caton who so kindly helped us find our first home in the Bay Area. She was mindful of our budget and attentive to our wish list. We landed a great starter home fit to our needs and close to work. In 2012, when it came time to relocate into a neighborhood with great schools, we once again called upon Susan, who now was partner with her daughter-in-law, Sabrina, to find the right house for our growing family. First, Susan and Sabrina helped sell our house within 2 weeks time at a price within our expectations. Then, they delivered BIG by helping us find our next dream home in a competitive market with little time to spare knowing Facebook millionaires would soon bring stiff competition to the housing market. All along, even when our first two offers fell through, Susan and Sabrina helped us keep our focus and always had our best interest in mind. Settling for less than our hearts desired was not the answer, and our patience combined with our trust in Susan and Sabrina paid off when we stumbled upon our dream home. We can honestly say that working with The Caton Dream Team has been a true pleasure as it has enabled us to find a wonderful place to call home, not only once, but twice. When the time comes, we will gladly call upon their services again, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking to find their first or next dream home.”
– Fredric and Heather R.
“I recently worked with The Caton team (Sabrina and Sue) to purchase my first home. I was referred to the team by a co-worker who had just purchased a condo with them. He had a great experience, and recommended them for their honesty, responsiveness and availability (even at night and weekends). I found this assessment to be 100% true.
I first met Sabrina and Sue when I was interviewing realtors. They recommended I come to their office for the interview. They were the only ones to recommend this, which already set them apart in my mind. During the interview they shared their process and approach and how our relationship would work. I decided to work with the Caton team for several reasons. 1) A great referral 2) Their open and honest personalities 3) Their sincere concern that I find exactly what I am looking for 3) Their combined years of experience and specialization in the peninsula.
After our first meeting, they set up their home search for the criteria we discussed. Part way through the search, my criteria changed, and they updated the search for the new criteria. Periodically, they would check in to see if I saw anything that I liked. We narrowed the search by going through what I liked and disliked about each listing that I reviewed online.
Sabrina and Sue answered all of my questions along the process. They came to the home inspection and to sign papers at title company. The title company representative that I signed papers with commented on how lucky I was to have my realtors there, looking out for my best interests, as a lot of first time buyers come alone, signing papers they don’t understand.
After receiving keys to my new home, the Caton team continued to support me. They referred me to painters their colleagues had worked with and found multiple contractors who would do the work I needed.
Sabrina and Sue are really easy to work with. It’s like talking with friends when I reach out to them. They are very approachable, trust worthy and hard working. They always answer questions I have or research to find the answers if they do not have them right away. I highly recommend them and will use them again for future real estate needs.”
– CJ T.
“The Caton team is awesome! Susan and Sabrina were an awesome fit for my husband and I as first-time homebuyers, but I highly recommend them for anyone at any stage of buying a home. They went above and beyond to help us locate a wonderful home and took us step by step through the often confusing short sale process. It felt less like we were working with realtors and more like we were working with good friends or family! Thank you, thank you, Sabrina and Susan!”
-Marie B.
“If anyone can get it done quickly it would be you two. By far the best Realtors west of the Mississippi.”
– Josh L.
“The Caton Team is A-Number-One in our book. Susan and Sabrina are consummate Pros. They do exhaustive research, they know how to price a home in today’s competitive market, and they know how to stage a home for maximum buyer appeal. They’ve sold two homes for us, and we’re completely satisfied with everything they do. You go, girls!”
-Russ & Elena H.
“I met Sabrina and Susan during our recent rental home search. As we were not prepared for a move (current homeowners informed us that they were selling the house after 1 year of listing the home as a rental) we needed to act quickly and diligently to find our new home. My initial communications were with Sabrina as she was hosting an open house. Her emails were prompt and friendly and I got to know her a bit through email. When I met up with her for the open house, she was just as friendly in person as was her partner, Susan. They were welcoming throughout the process and provided wonderful thorough follow up on behalf of the homeowner. Susan made herself available on a Saturday morning for the signing of the lease and has been in contact with us as we prepare for the move-in. We have very much enjoyed working with the Caton Team and would recommend them for rental guidance and hopefully in the near future, home ownership!”
– Angela J.
“The Caton team has helped me find my perfect condo within a month of looking! And then later found me great tenants to rent it out. They work quickly and are very professional. Plus, these are just a pair of wonderful women to be around. They are very trustworthy and have their Clients’ best interest in mind. I will be using them again for all my real estate needs, and I recommend them to everyone else! Thank you so much!”
-Caitlin G.
“The Caton Team are the best. They are very easy to work with and know what they are doing. Made a very stressful time much easier! I would recommend them to all. First time buyers and people that have sold many times will enjoy working with these wonderful ladies!”
-Chris & Gary C.
“The Caton Team has helped us many times. Susan and Sabrina are wonderful and we will use them again when the time comes. They know everything about the bay area and never pressure you about making decisions. We couldn’t ask for a better team.”
-Elisa D.
“I’m pretty sure without The Caton Team we wouldn’t have been able to buy our house. We started looking right before the housing market crashed and was going back and forth on qualifying for a loan. They made it happen-it’s a long story and I can make short and sweet. Please use The Caton Team for you house buying needs! Really!”
– Nisi C.
“I can’t say enough about what an incredibly professional job Sabrina did; she went above and beyond the call of duty! We would not be in our house today were it not for her tireless efforts. She’s so knowledgeable and works tenaciously for her clients. Thank you Sabrina!
- Rip R.
“Great working with you guys!”
-Aaron B.
“I have worked with many realtors during my 15 years as a mortgage broker and Sabrina Caton is by far one of the best real estate agents I have ever had the pleasure of working with on a number of purchase transactions over the years. She is upbeat and personable with a great sense of humor. She consistently works with her clients best interests in mind and is not afraid to tackle the tough deals. I have personally seen her negotiate to lower the purchase price by $25,000 after the contract was already signed when the buyers’ appraisal came in below the purchase price. You can count on Sabrina for high energy, professional real estate services!”
-Melanie Flynn – Windsor Capital
“Susan & Sabrina did an excellent job, I am very happy. I highly recommend them.”
– Heidi & Robert M.
“Susan & Sabrina were great, very helpful, and understanding. They were never pushy and made sure we were making the right choices at all times. We would use them again for our next property purchase.”
– Anthony D. & Elisa L.
“Susan & Sabrina did a wonderful job, they are easy to communicate with, they were willing to put in extra time and work in getting our house ready to sell.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“I knew I wanted to work with Susan immediately because she actually listened to our needs, and gave sound, practical advice and information without a sales pitch. I would recommend her to anyone. She was absolutely helpful and made the whole thing easy and painless. I didn’t worry about anything as long as she was working on it.”
– Alicia S. and John G.
“Sabrina did an excellent job, she went above and beyond from the beginning to the end of the transaction making sure we understood every detail. She made things very easy on us – we appreciate all her hard work. We used them for both our real estate deals.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“When we need to sale our home – we definitely will call them again!”
– Loyda C. & Carol J.
“We loved working with Susan. I feel I have gained a new friendship. She was totally honest and trustworthy. She made selling our home a pleasant experience.”
– Ken & Elain S.
“Susan went above and beyond what she had to do. She was the only help I had getting my parents home cleaned and emptied so I could sell. I live in Sacramento and didn’t have the time to get down to San Carlos. She truly was a “God Send”. She is FABULOUS! I can’t say enough about her! Please know you have one hell of a woman working for Prudential. Please make sure she receives kudos for a job well done!”
– Andrew R.
“Susan was always available to us, providing information and assurance during the selling process of our home. Thank You!
– Leo & Carlotta O.
“We felt very relaxed and trusted their personality.”
– William & Helen G.
“They did an excellent job and we would recommend them!
– Steve & Stacy G.
“Thank you – Flawless Service!”
– Danielle C. & Thomas G.
“I will recommend them to all my friends and family.”
– Diane S.
“We wanted to work with Sabrina. She was wonderful. She put up with lots of emotions / family dynamic around the sale of this home, as it was our families house. I appreciated her sensitivity and solid knowledge. We would be happy to work with her again and pass along any new clients as well.
– Nancy R.
“I highly recommend them!”
– Derek H.
“Susan helped us so much. She advised us and “rode” with us though the entire ordeal. She is a very “real” person and shares concerns. She advises and makes one feel extremely comfortable. I would recommend her to another person unconditionally. She is an excellent agent who goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
– Russ & Elena H.
“They were great. They made the entire process as fun and easy as it could be. Thank you!”
– Matthew S.
“Susan was extremely helpful in making our first move in 44 years painless. It was a major undertaking. Thank you!”
– Betty C.
“Very thorough. Informed me of the newest listings. Made intelligent recommendations and opinions on listings without being pushy. The attention given to me made me feel as if I were the only client. I am extremely satisfied with the service.”
– Toshinari K.
“They were very professional and helpful. We could not complete the transaction without them.”
– Takeshi & Nana M.
“We selected Susan over two other agents because we liked her better.”
– Daniel S.
“EXCELLENT JOB! Lots of support throughout the process! Great personalities and professionalism! Very responsive to our concerns during the sale – thank you!”
– Mike & Lynn A.
“Sabrina is a highly effective real-estate agent. She has in-depth of knowledge of the market, strong negotiation skills and provides highly personalized service…she really listens to the needs of her client and delivers based on those needs.”
– Elif S.
“I was impressed with the attention to detail throughout the sale process. True Professionals!
– John K.
“We were very happy with Susan as she helped us through a difficult situation. Thanks is just not enough to say for what she did!”
– Donald & Roseanna M.
“Definitely an asset to your company!”
– Rosemary P.
“They are such real / genuine people. I felt I could lean and trust them particularly with some very important but difficult to understand questions. They are WONDERFUL!”
– Patricia P.
“Susan has impeccable integrity, what a great individual. Thank you for a wonderful transaction.”
– Pamela G.
“What a great experience. I live 4 hours away and shopping for rentals is not easy. The Caton Team made my shopping experience less stressful. Always ready to answer any questions I had, anytime I had them. I highly recommend this Team.”
– Julienne E.
Needless to say – this headline got my attention – so I had to read and share it. Real Estate is a micro environment, and it takes time and guidance to figure out this journey – The Caton Team is here for you each step of the way. I’ve added my two cents in italics.
Buying a home—especially if it’s your first—can be a lot like losing weight in the sense that people end up doing, well, some pretty dumb stuff in the process. But while desperate dieters might waste money on “magical” weight-loss pills or silly exercise equipment (remember the shake weight?), misguided home buyers could be doing far more serious damage—like undermining their ability to purchase a house at all. Don’t be one of them! We asked real estate agents to shed light on some of the dumbest reasons people can’t buy a home. The good news? These flubs are easily avoidable. Read on and beware.
Dumb reason No. 1: Waiting to line up financing
This is so true – we wait thinking we can save. But what we need to ask is – how quick is the market appreciating and can I match or beat that pace? Chances are no.
Your first step in the home-buying process should be to meet with a mortgage lender to discuss your financing options, says Benny Kang, a real estate agent in Irvine, CA.
“You don’t truly know what you can afford until you meet with a lender,” says Kang. In other words, just because you think you can buy a $1 million house doesn’t mean you can actually get a loan to purchase a home that nice.
This is so true! I meet so many clients that do not realize the importance of the home loan, the time it takes to get approved and so forth.
Dumb reason No. 2: Using a fly-by-night mortgage lender
The mortgage industry is rife with scams—including a slew of fake or unreliable lenders. Placing your trust in a bad lender can cause a deal to fall through. That explains why “sometimes sellers reject offers because of the buyer’s lender,” says Philadelphia real estate agent Kathy Conway. To make sure your financing is rock-solid, ask your real estate agent for lender recommendations instead of, say, just Googling it. And read up to know your mortgage basics.
Online lending tempting you – stop right there and change the channel. The Caton Team has a list of reputable, local lenders that know what it takes to own a home in the Silicon Valley. You get what you pay for – be smart.
Dumb reason No. 3: Getting pre-qualified rather than pre-approved
Pre-qualification and pre-approval might sound similar, but they’re not. Essentially, anyone can get pre-qualified for a loan, because it only involves having a conversation with a lender about the state of your finances (no documents are exchanged). Getting pre-approved, meanwhile, involves the lender gathering all necessary documentation—your tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs, and more—packaging the loan, and submitting the file to an underwriter for review. If everything checks out, the lender will issue you a written commitment for financing up to a certain loan amount that’s good for up to 90 or 120 days.
When you submit an offer on a home, you’ll need to include a pre-approval letter from your lender, says Conway.
“Educated sellers won’t even entertain an offer unless the buyer has a letter of pre-approval” from a reliable lender, Conway says.
Let me take this a step further, if an agent takes you to see homes and you’re not approved – you’re doing this all wrong. The Caton Team strives to make the real estate journey as smooth as possible – meaning – get pre-approved for a home loan first – then look at homes. Curious why? Contact us and we’d be happy to share what it takes to be an owner and not a buyer in this market.
Dumb reason No. 4: Shopping outside your price range
“It sounds obvious, but some home buyers just have trouble sticking to a budget,” says Kang. Therefore, resist the temptation to shop online for homes that are simply outside your price range (i.e., how much you’ve been pre-approved for).
By all means, window shop for homes all you want. I do it – it’s fun. But don’t waste your time day dreaming if you truly want to own real estate.
Dumb reason No. 5: Making lowball offers in a seller’s market
You need to rely on your real estate agent to determine whether a house that you’re interested in has a fair listing price. (Your agent will do this by performing a comparative market analysis, which entails looking at recently sold properties that are comparable to the house that’s up for sale.) If a home is priced well, it might make sense to offer full price, says Kang. Moreover, “if you’re in a seller’s market, making a crazy lowball offer can piss off the seller” and kill your offer, says Kang.
Dumb reason No. 6: Writing a bad personal letter to the seller
If you’re competing against other buyers, writing the seller a personal letter can help strengthen your offer. But Julie McDonough, a real estate agent in Southern California, says some home buyers are inclined to overshare, in which case a letter can actually hurt your offer.
“Stick to the fact that you love the house and the neighborhood,” says McDonough. “Don’t get into personal details” such as the fact that you’ve lost out on other homes or want to remodel the dated kitchen.
The letter is a great piece of the offer package. Write it. Need I say more?
Dumb reason No. 7: Making a big purchase while in escrow
Some home buyers make the mistake of opening new credit accounts while they’re in the process of buying a house. But purchasing a big-ticket item like a car or a boat while you’re buying a house can jeopardize your financing. Why? Because your mortgage lender’s underwriter is going to re-evaluate your finances and recheck your credit report shortly before closing in order to determine that you’re still able to qualify for the loan.
“Even buying a fridge can throw off your credit or debt-to-income ratio,” says Conway. Translation: Don’t make any big purchases until after you close on the house.
You’re buying a house – that’s all the money you can spend. Hide your wallet till after escrow closes.
Dumb reason No. 8: Not budgeting for closing costs
If you don’t have enough cash to cover closing costs, you won’t make it to settlement; and if that’s the case, you could lose your earnest money deposit. Thus, make sure to get an estimate from your mortgage lender of what your closing costs will be before making an offer on a property (currently, this is legally required—just make sure to read it).
Closing costs vary widely by location, but they typically total 2% to 7% of the home’s purchase price. So on a $250,000 home, your closing costs could come to $5,000 to $17,500. Both buyers and sellers usually pitch in on closing costs, but buyers shoulder the lion’s share of the load (3% to 4% of the home’s price) compared with sellers (1% to 3%), so you need to make sure you have enough cash on hand to pay your portion.
All the more reason to sit down with a lender and a Realtor from the start. We are here to map out your journey and make it as smooth as possible. How can The Caton Team help you?
This article peaked our interest since the Caton Team is working with auction buyers. Fascinating the properties that come through the auction block – but this one – OMG! Take a read from the SF Chronicle!
Rich SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street
Thanks to a little-noticed auction sale, a South Bay couple are the proud owners of one of the most exclusive streets in San Francisco — and they’re looking for ways to make their purchase pay.
Tina Lam and Michael Cheng snatched up Presidio Terrace — the block-long, private oval street lined by 35 megamillion-dollar mansions — for $90,000 and change in a city-run auction stemming from an unpaid tax bill. They outlasted several other bidders.
Now they’re looking to cash in — maybe by charging the residents of those mansions to park on their own private street.
Those residents value their privacy — and their exclusivity. Past homeowners have included Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her financier husband, Richard Blum; House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi; and the late Mayor Joseph Alioto. A guard is stationed round the clock at the stone-gate entrance to the street to keep the curious away.
So imagine the residents’ surprise when San Jose residents Cheng and Lam wound up with the street, its sidewalks and every other bit of “common ground” in the private development that has been managed by the homeowners since at least 1905. That includes a string of well-coiffed garden islands, palm trees and other greenery that enhance the gated and guarded community at the end of Washington Street, just off Arguello Boulevard and down the hill from the Presidio.
“We just got lucky,”said Cheng, a real estate investor.
The homeowners, however, are crying foul and want the Board of Supervisors to negate the sale.
The couple’s purchase appears to be the culmination of a comedy of errors involving a $14-a-year property tax bill that the homeowners association failed to pay for three decades. It’s something that the owners of all 181 private streets in San Francisco are obliged to do.
In a letter to the city last month, Scott Emblidge, the attorney for the Presidio Homeowners Association, said the group had failed to pay up because its tax bill was being mailed to the Kearny Street address used by an accountant who hadn’t worked for the homeowners since the 1980s.
Two years ago, the city’s tax office put the property up for sale in an online auction, seeking to recover $994 in unpaid back taxes, penalties and interest. Cheng and Lam, trawling for real estate opportunities in the city, pounced on the offer — snatching up the parcel with a $90,100 bid, sight unseen.
Since the purchase in April 2015, the couple have been quietly sitting on the property, talking to a number of land-use attorneys to explore their options.
“We were looking to get title insurance so it could be marketable,” Cheng said.
He and his wife see plenty of financial opportunity — especially from the 120 parking spaces on the street that they now control.
“We could charge a reasonable rent on it,” Cheng said.
And if the Presidio Terrace residents aren’t interested in paying for parking privileges, perhaps some of their neighbors outside the gates — in a city where parking is at a premium — would be.
Unsurprisingly, the residents were more than a little upset when they belatedly found out what had happened.
They didn’t learn that their street and sidewalks had been sold until they were contacted May 30 by a title search company working on behalf of Cheng and Lam, said Emblidge. The title search outfit wanted to know if the residents had any interest in buying back the property from the couple, the lawyer said.
“I was shocked to learn this could happen, and am deeply troubled that anyone would choose to take advantage of the situation and buy our street and sidewalks,” said one homeowner, who asked not to be named because of pending litigation.
Last month, the homeowners petitioned the Board of Supervisors for a hearing to rescind the tax sale. The board has scheduled a hearing for October.
In addition, the homeowners association has sued the couple and the city, seeking to block Cheng and Lam from selling the street to anyone while the city appeal is pending — a move residents fear could complicate their efforts to reclaim the land.
The residents say the city had an obligation to post a notice in Presidio Terrace notifying neighbors of the pending auction back in 2015 — something that “would have been simple and inexpensive for the city to accomplish.”
Treasurer-Tax Collector Jose Cisneros’ office says the city did what the law requires.
“Ninety-nine percent of property owners in San Francisco know what they need to do, and they pay their taxes on time — and they keep their mailing address up to date,” said spokeswoman Amanda Fried.
“There is nothing that our office can do” about the sale now, she added.
Fried said that as far as she knows, the Board of Supervisors “has never done a hearing of rescission” — and that because it’s been more than two years since Cheng and Lam bought the property, it could be tough to overturn the sale now.
As for the threat to charge them for parking, the residents suspect it’s part of a pressure campaign by the couple to force the homeowners association to shell out big bucks to buy back the street.
The couple, however, say they’re in no hurry to sell.
“I’m a first-generation immigrant, and the first time I came to San Francisco I fell in love with the city,” said Lam, an engineer in Silicon Valley who was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. for college.
“I really just wanted to own something in San Francisco because of my affinity for the city,” Lam said.
There’s a bit of irony in the couple’s purchase. Until a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning the enforcement of racial covenants, homes in Presidio Terrace could be purchased only by whites.
“The more we dug into this,” said the Taiwan-born Cheng, “the more interesting it got.”
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
The Caton Team is comprised of Susan and Sabrina Caton – a mother/daughter in law team. We are full time, local Realtors with over 25 years of combined Real Estate experience. How can The Caton Team help you?
You can imagine the importance I felt when I came across this article on Realtor.com. I never want my clients to experience buyer’s remorse. I know the key to preventing that is education and a game plan. The Caton Team is dedicate to educating our buying clients every step of the way. Please enjoy this article and my 2 cents in italics. – Sabrina
Half of recent home buyers say that if they could repeat the homebuying process, they’d do something differently, according to a survey by financial website NerdWallet.com. Respondents indicate that their biggest source of regret when buying a home was not preparing enough financially for homeownership. Here are some of the most common reasons for buyer regret, according to the survey.
Purchasing a home that’s too expensive.Millennials and Generation X members were more likely than baby boomers to say they overspent on their home purchase, according to the NerdWallet survey. A 2015 MacArthur Foundation survey also found that more than half of consumers had to make sacrifices in order to afford their mortgage or rent. About 20 percent said they took an extra job, 17 percent stopped saving for retirement, and 14 percent accumulated credit card debt, according to the MacArthur survey.
Especially in the Silicon Valley where our real estate prices are 300%* higher than the average. So yes, those buyers had to bite the bullet if they wanted to stay in the Bay Area. However, they probably already have equity! Truly, for a first time homebuyer – getting into the first home is always a challenge, it is always costs more initially but in the long run – investing in real estate is a solid investment – where else can you live in your investment and gain equity!
Purchasing a home that doesn’t fit their needs.About 5 percent of respondents to the NerdWallet survey say their home didn’t align with their homeownership goals. Housing experts recommend avoiding common homebuying mistakes like forgoing a home inspection, ignoring commute time, or choosing the wrong neighborhood. Also, consumers need to know what amenities they need. That’s not always easy: 7 percent of buyers say the amenities and features they valued most changed after buying a home.
Ouch – that is a tough one. I see this happen during the buying journey. Truthfully, in our experience, what a buyer wants when we sit down for our first appointment is often very different from the house they actually buy down the road. The key to not buying a house you do not need is to truly write down what you want in your home, what you feel you need in the home and then compare it to your price point and what homes in that area and price offer you. Then re-evaluate. Sometimes you don’t need the extra bedroom today – perhaps a smaller home in a better neighborhood will fill your needs today and down the road. You’ve got keep an open mind; you’ve got to evaluate every step and be open and honest with your communications to yourself and to your Realtors. Together – we’ll figure this out!
Not putting enough money down.Low-down-payment loans can help buyers without robust savings get into a home, but some may later regret not saving more before taking on the costs of homeownership. Twenty-eight percent of millennials and 27 percent of Gen Xers say they wish they had saved more before buying their house, according to the NerdWallet survey.
The down-payment can me the hardest money to save! Having at least 20% is ideal– a buyer will avoid Private Mortgage Insurance with 20% down. (Although there are loans where you can bring in less that 20%, take out a second mortgage avoid PMI.) So don’t give up right away. Saving for the down is important but you most also factor in your current real estate market. If you cannot save money as fast as the market appreciates – then we have some strategizing to do. It’s best to get the most information you can before you start house hunting. The Caton Team offers our buyer clients an free, initial consultation to help you through the journey.
Not being organized.Many home shoppers say they wish they had gathered paperwork before the mortgage application process and developed a system for keeping it organized. That includes W-2 or tax return forms, profit-and-loss statements for business owners, brokerage statements, proof of Social Security income, and evidence of child support payments. Home shoppers also need proof of their assets, such as documentation of down-payment gifts and copies of bank statements, as well as information on outstanding debts.
When you jump into buying a home, the first step is getting a home loan. That requires copious amounts of paperwork. And!!! That same darn paperwork will need to be sent, multiple times throughout the journey. I could go on and on about the paperwork. So let me be frank for a second. Buying a home will feel like a second job. There is only so much your Realtor and your Lender can do FOR YOU – most of the work must be down BY YOU. You will need to have your documents in order and easy to access. You will need to know your budget, your boundaries. It is a lot of work, it is your journey but let me assure you – it’s the best journey!
Not shopping around for a loan.Half of borrowers take the first mortgage that’s offered to them, according to a survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But shopping around for a mortgage with an interest rate that is even half of a percentage point lower can result in tens of thousands of dollars in savings over the life of the mortgage. Home buyers should compare more than interest fees, including the cost of private mortgage insurance and the loan’s APR (which is the interest rate, points, fees, and other charges all rolled into a yearly rate).
Here’s more work for the Buyer – but doing this work – this research – will pay off in the end. When The Caton Team meet with new buyers, we give them a list of our best lenders. Once you start applying for your home loan, you have 30 days to shop different banks and institutions. A Buyer will want to compare the Interest Rate offered (requires a formal loan application and credit check [Credit checks can cost the consumer money]), the fees charged by each bank, (loan fees, appraisal fees etc) and compare which is the best. Don’t forget to take into account customer service. The Caton Team would hate to see a deal fall apart because a buyer hired the cheapest lender they could find who didn’t respect the contract of the time lines. Time is of the Essence in the contract – it is even part of the contract. So don’t’ forget you get what you pay for.
Buying and Selling Real Estate is our Full Time Job – so if you have questions – we have answers. What can The Caton Team do for you?
People often think of Real Estate negotiations as having a strong arm. Not true. In fact, The Caton Team knows – Real Estate Sales is a meeting of the minds. It should leave both parties happy and feeling as if they sold at the right price and bought at the right price. Sometimes we’ll encounter people with a difference of opinion – so I thought I would share this article from realtor.com and Daily Real Estate News to share some insight on how to properly negotiate.
3 Ways to Make Counteroffers Easier
No matter if your client is buying or selling, counteroffers can pose sticky negotiations from both sides. Here are three tips for successfully responding to counteroffers from Desare Kohn-Laski, broker-owner of Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, Fla.
1. Ask for something in return.
Sellers and buyers alike should remember that counteroffers are made because the other party outlines something very specific they want in the transaction, Kohn-Laski says. For example, if your buyers find that appliances are specifically not included in the seller’s counteroffer, then your buyers might want to offer more money to include the appliances in their second offer.
2. Offer incentives.
If you are on the seller side, your client could offer to pay the buyer’s homeowners association fees for a specific period. “Capitalize on the primary truth that most buyers will need extra cash after the big purchase,” Kohn-Laski says. Incentive ideas for buyers include interior repainting or a year of free lawn services. For sellers, covering moving costs or repair costs from an issue found during inspection could also be useful incentives.
3. Know when to split the difference.
Meeting the other side halfway is usually a winning solution; it’s an art that leads to closing deals, Kohn-Laski says. When a few thousand or few hundred dollars appear to be the hurdle, you can counter by offering to split the difference. For instance, if the list price is $435,000 and your buyer wants it for $430,000, split the $5,000 difference to achieve $432,500.
The Caton Team prides ourselves with fair and honest dealings. We know how to represent a seller to protect their best interests while managing the sale of their home. We also know how to write the best offer for a buyer, in order to get their needs met and an agreeable contract for the seller. In this competitive market – price isn’t always everything – curious why? Call or email us – we’d be happy to share our ideas.
You think you only need a Realtor when you go to buy and sell Real Estate. Turns out – we’re pretty handy resources too! The Caton Team likes to set up our clients with a monthly search so they know – at any given time – about how much their home is worth. Now, one would think this information is only relevant when it’s time to sell – turns out – knowing your homes value comes in handy… here’s how!
(If you’d like us to setup a custom search for your home – please let us know!)
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO REFINANCE?
Much like selling, knowing your home’s value can guide you to the right mortgage refinance opportunity. Perhaps you need a lower, more manageable payment – I.E. a lower interest rate – knowing the value of your home will help you determine how much you can borrow. If you need some guidance on where to turn – please let The Caton Team know and we can point you in the right direction.
THINKING OF HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Understanding the value of your home will help determine if a home improvement is worth it. Considering a sale? If your home is already worth top dollar for your area – perhaps an improvement isn’t the best bang for your buck. On the flip side – if you know your home is a tad more dated than the neighborhood, and you know the oohs and aahs the Jone’s just got for their fixed up bath – then perhaps it is time to consider a home improvement that will maximize your return on investment. Curious where to invest your money? The Caton Team is happy to help! We’re in the trenches with our buyers and know what they are looking for. We are very cost conscious with our sellers – so we will steer you in the right direction.
KNOW YOUR PROPERTY TAX
The property tax you pay is assessed on the value of your home. If the market is healthy or you’ve updated your home that will increase the value of you home and adjust your property tax upwards. Have you noticed a change in your taxable value and curious if it is correct? Let the Caton Team know and we’d be happy to provide you with an accurate, current value of your home.
NEED A LINE OF CREDIT
If you’re thinking you need to borrow against your home for a Line of Credit – you’ll need to know and understand the value of your home. Most banks require up to 25% equity in your home in order to qualify for a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). When home values are on the rise and the real estate market is strong – that can create a great opportunity for a homeowner to capture and use some of their equity. Perhaps pay off more expensive loans or pay for college tuition.
HOME OWNERS INSURANCE
Did you know that your Home Owners Insurance is based on the appraised value? If your home values go up you may be under-insured! For instance, let’s say you bought a home with an unfinished basement and converted it into a high-end Man Cave with all the electronic bells and whistles. Clearly you just added value to your home, added equity – so you’ll want to make sure your insurance covers these new renovations and reflects the new value of your home. Are you curious if your renovations added value – let The Caton Team know and we’ll help!
The Caton Team is comprised of Susan and Sabrina Caton – a mother/daughter in law team. We are full time, local Realtors with over 25 years of combined Real Estate experience. How can The Caton Team help you?
Sabrina and team are fantastic. Responsive, honest, transparent and efficient. She’s also well-connected in the real estate community on the peninsula – whether buying or selling, you can’t ask for better representation. I highly recommend her!
– Kenny H.
Testimonial of the Day – from Mike on Google – 5 stars
“Very honest.”
– Fredric & Heather R.
To future clients of The Caton Team,
The Caton Team is made up of Susan Caton and Sabrina Caton, or as I like to refer to them as the Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They are trustworthy, honest, straight-forward, and experts in the real estate business. I might be a little biased, because of my friendship with them, but nothing will test a friendship more than the process of buying and selling a home. As everyone knows when you sell your home you want the most money for the least amount of effort and you want the process to be quick and smooth. The Caton Team will make sure you have all of the necessary information and knowledge to understand how to stage your home and what the process will be along with a realistic timeline of what you can expect. If you follow their directions and listen to what they say, your home selling experience will be painless and quick. For us this ended up being less than a week with our home selling for more than what we expected. The entire process from filling out the required paperwork to negotiating went smoothly and was overall painless on our end. At the end of the day we got more than what we wanted and were in a great position to start hunting for a new home.
This brings me to how The Caton Team helped us buy a new home for what we wanted, while making sure that we got the home that we wanted. Since we had already bought and sold our first home with The Caton Team, using them again to buy another house did not require much thought, actually required no thought. We went into the process wanting the best of the best in the best location, because who does not want that for themselves? They were kind enough to listen to our wants and desires and showed us what we could afford in the areas we were looking. It took a few homes to realize that our expectations were not in sync with the market, because currently in early 2015 homes are going like hot cakes and for more than what they are listed at by a fair amount.
This is when we sat down again and started looking at other areas that were just as nice, but we had ignored initially. The important part here is while they mentioned this information early on, they allowed us to realize it on our own that we needed to look outside of our ideal areas if we wanted our dream house. Once we realized what they were saying we expanded our search and found the home that we wanted. After our initial open house we contacted The Caton Team and informed them that we found the home that we wanted. This is when The Caton Team sprang into action, they immediately started requesting all of the disclosures from the seller’s agent and contacted the seller’s agent to gain any additional knowledge that might not be in the supplied paperwork. They then shared this information openly with us, as one would expect, and started laying down the groundwork of what we would need to do if we truly wanted this house. They supplied us with the tools necessary to make an informed decision and provided us with comparable sales (COMPS) in that particular area, so that we would have an idea of what houses were selling for and where the market was heading (spoiler alert, market was only going upwards). Their attention to detail and understanding of the market allowed us to make the best offer we could, while not overbidding or underbidding and making sure that we would have our offer accepted. As you have already guessed, our offer was accepted almost immediately and we are now homeowners of a home that we wanted in an area that is ideal.
If you have made it this far, then you realize why The Caton Team is really The Dynamic Duo of Real Estate. They make sure you are provided with the proper tools and information to make the best decision for yourself. They will work tirelessly with you and will not be a 9-5 agent, they will be honest, trustworthy, and straight-forward. You will not feel like you are getting the short-end of the deal and at the end of the day you will feel great about your decision to work with The Caton Team.
-The Liere Family
“Sabrina and Susan of Berkshire Hathaway, were the perfect real estate agents for me. As a first-time buyer, I had very little knowledge of how the process of purchasing a home actually worked. They are friendly, approachable, patient, strategic and persistent. Sabrina maintained great communication throughout the entire experience. They always got back to me quickly and they were willing to meet or discuss potential condos that I selected as potential buys. She even recommended a lending agent in the area, which I ended up using. Without them edging me along, I’m fairly certain I would have given up, thinking this whole “buying a house” ordeal was not for me. It’s simply too difficult for a working person to complete on their own.
Now that I have purchased my condo, I’m happy to see that Sabrina is still involved. She has collected my new keys and mail, answered my escrow questions and will do the final walk through. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or use them again.”
– Ashley
“I worked with Sabrina and Sue a few years back and they were so professional. I was going thru a divorce and had to sell my condo. I was beyond upset. (Not because of the divorce but selling the condo) haha… Thru this difficult time they were so amazing and made me feel at ease. The housing market at that time was not the best but they did their best to make sure I got a good deal. The condo wasn’t on the market for too long and I was able to sell it for a decent price. Thank you to both for making that transition in my life a little easier. Definitely will be using them again if and ever I can buy again.”
-Elena
“We had a great experience buying a house through the Caton team. Sabrina and Susan were patient in answering our many questions, and helped guide us in the offer process to help win a bid on our second offer even in this crazy market! They are easy to get in touch with over email, text, or phone, and detail oriented to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. We’d highly recommend them!”
-Katherine
Hi Susan and Sabrina,
I just thought I’d take a moment to write you both to say how much of a pleasure it has been to once again have had another successful property transaction come to fruition with you both at the helm (yay, three now)!
I can’t say enough how Victor and I have been so happy you’ve been our representatives in both our buying and selling transactions, and that your dedication and hard work, creativity and professionalism have always made a world of difference all throughout the process of buying and selling our homes. From the smallest details like your fantastic web page ads and captioning to your weekly and continuous updates and presence at the property for showings and repairs. You’ve left nothing to chance!
It’s clear that experience counts, and your research and broad-based knowledge of the local real estate and larger markets in general, have always provided us with a solid backdrop from which we could make our decisions. You’ve always provided us with good information, solid recommendations, and I’m grateful that we had you both as our representatives.
Additionally, I want to say on a personal note, that you are both so considerate and thoughtful, and I always feel that we are in good hands when you’re on the job. Thank you again for this recent and very successful sale of our property, and we look forward to our continued relationship with you in future transactions.
I did not have your Broker’s contact information, but if you would please forward him/her this e-mail, I’d appreciate it, because I’d like them to know that you have permanent fans!
Thanks again, Helen and Victor
“Susan and Sabrina, The Caton (Dream)Team –
Thirteen years ago, we met Susan Caton who so kindly helped us find our first home in the Bay Area. She was mindful of our budget and attentive to our wish list. We landed a great starter home fit to our needs and close to work. In 2012, when it came time to relocate into a neighborhood with great schools, we once again called upon Susan, who now was partner with her daughter-in-law, Sabrina, to find the right house for our growing family. First, Susan and Sabrina helped sell our house within 2 weeks time at a price within our expectations. Then, they delivered BIG by helping us find our next dream home in a competitive market with little time to spare knowing Facebook millionaires would soon bring stiff competition to the housing market. All along, even when our first two offers fell through, Susan and Sabrina helped us keep our focus and always had our best interest in mind. Settling for less than our hearts desired was not the answer, and our patience combined with our trust in Susan and Sabrina paid off when we stumbled upon our dream home. We can honestly say that working with The Caton Dream Team has been a true pleasure as it has enabled us to find a wonderful place to call home, not only once, but twice. When the time comes, we will gladly call upon their services again, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking to find their first or next dream home.”
– Fredric and Heather R.
“I recently worked with The Caton team (Sabrina and Sue) to purchase my first home. I was referred to the team by a co-worker who had just purchased a condo with them. He had a great experience, and recommended them for their honesty, responsiveness and availability (even at night and weekends). I found this assessment to be 100% true.
I first met Sabrina and Sue when I was interviewing realtors. They recommended I come to their office for the interview. They were the only ones to recommend this, which already set them apart in my mind. During the interview they shared their process and approach and how our relationship would work. I decided to work with the Caton team for several reasons. 1) A great referral 2) Their open and honest personalities 3) Their sincere concern that I find exactly what I am looking for 3) Their combined years of experience and specialization in the peninsula.
After our first meeting, they set up their home search for the criteria we discussed. Part way through the search, my criteria changed, and they updated the search for the new criteria. Periodically, they would check in to see if I saw anything that I liked. We narrowed the search by going through what I liked and disliked about each listing that I reviewed online.
Sabrina and Sue answered all of my questions along the process. They came to the home inspection and to sign papers at title company. The title company representative that I signed papers with commented on how lucky I was to have my realtors there, looking out for my best interests, as a lot of first time buyers come alone, signing papers they don’t understand.
After receiving keys to my new home, the Caton team continued to support me. They referred me to painters their colleagues had worked with and found multiple contractors who would do the work I needed.
Sabrina and Sue are really easy to work with. It’s like talking with friends when I reach out to them. They are very approachable, trust worthy and hard working. They always answer questions I have or research to find the answers if they do not have them right away. I highly recommend them and will use them again for future real estate needs.”
– CJ T.
“The Caton team is awesome! Susan and Sabrina were an awesome fit for my husband and I as first-time homebuyers, but I highly recommend them for anyone at any stage of buying a home. They went above and beyond to help us locate a wonderful home and took us step by step through the often confusing short sale process. It felt less like we were working with realtors and more like we were working with good friends or family! Thank you, thank you, Sabrina and Susan!”
-Marie B.
“If anyone can get it done quickly it would be you two. By far the best Realtors west of the Mississippi.”
– Josh L.
“The Caton Team is A-Number-One in our book. Susan and Sabrina are consummate Pros. They do exhaustive research, they know how to price a home in today’s competitive market, and they know how to stage a home for maximum buyer appeal. They’ve sold two homes for us, and we’re completely satisfied with everything they do. You go, girls!”
-Russ & Elena H.
“I met Sabrina and Susan during our recent rental home search. As we were not prepared for a move (current homeowners informed us that they were selling the house after 1 year of listing the home as a rental) we needed to act quickly and diligently to find our new home. My initial communications were with Sabrina as she was hosting an open house. Her emails were prompt and friendly and I got to know her a bit through email. When I met up with her for the open house, she was just as friendly in person as was her partner, Susan. They were welcoming throughout the process and provided wonderful thorough follow up on behalf of the homeowner. Susan made herself available on a Saturday morning for the signing of the lease and has been in contact with us as we prepare for the move-in. We have very much enjoyed working with the Caton Team and would recommend them for rental guidance and hopefully in the near future, home ownership!”
– Angela J.
“The Caton team has helped me find my perfect condo within a month of looking! And then later found me great tenants to rent it out. They work quickly and are very professional. Plus, these are just a pair of wonderful women to be around. They are very trustworthy and have their Clients’ best interest in mind. I will be using them again for all my real estate needs, and I recommend them to everyone else! Thank you so much!”
-Caitlin G.
“The Caton Team are the best. They are very easy to work with and know what they are doing. Made a very stressful time much easier! I would recommend them to all. First time buyers and people that have sold many times will enjoy working with these wonderful ladies!”
-Chris & Gary C.
“The Caton Team has helped us many times. Susan and Sabrina are wonderful and we will use them again when the time comes. They know everything about the bay area and never pressure you about making decisions. We couldn’t ask for a better team.”
-Elisa D.
“I’m pretty sure without The Caton Team we wouldn’t have been able to buy our house. We started looking right before the housing market crashed and was going back and forth on qualifying for a loan. They made it happen-it’s a long story and I can make short and sweet. Please use The Caton Team for you house buying needs! Really!”
– Nisi C.
“I can’t say enough about what an incredibly professional job Sabrina did; she went above and beyond the call of duty! We would not be in our house today were it not for her tireless efforts. She’s so knowledgeable and works tenaciously for her clients.
Thank you Sabrina!
– Rip R.
“Great working with you guys!”
-Aaron B.
“I have worked with many realtors during my 15 years as a mortgage broker and Sabrina Caton is by far one of the best real estate agents I have ever had the pleasure of working with on a number of purchase transactions over the years. She is upbeat and personable with a great sense of humor. She consistently works with her clients best interests in mind and is not afraid to tackle the tough deals. I have personally seen her negotiate to lower the purchase price by $25,000 after the contract was already signed when the buyers’ appraisal came in below the purchase price. You can count on Sabrina for high energy, professional real estate services!”
-Melanie Flynn – Windsor Capital
“Susan & Sabrina did an excellent job, I am very happy. I highly recommend them.”
– Heidi & Robert M.
“Susan & Sabrina were great, very helpful, and understanding. They were never pushy and made sure we were making the right choices at all times. We would use them again for our next property purchase.”
– Anthony D. & Elisa L.
“Susan & Sabrina did a wonderful job, they are easy to communicate with, they were willing to put in extra time and work in getting our house ready to sell.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“I knew I wanted to work with Susan immediately because she actually listened to our needs, and gave sound, practical advice and information without a sales pitch. I would recommend her to anyone. She was absolutely helpful and made the whole thing easy and painless. I didn’t worry about anything as long as she was working on it.”
– Alicia S. and John G.
“Sabrina did an excellent job, she went above and beyond from the beginning to the end of the transaction making sure we understood every detail. She made things very easy on us – we appreciate all her hard work. We used them for both our real estate deals.”
– Kathy & Rodney H.
“When we need to sale our home – we definitely will call them again!”
– Loyda C. & Carol J.
“We loved working with Susan. I feel I have gained a new friendship. She was totally honest and trustworthy. She made selling our home a pleasant experience.”
– Ken & Elain S.
“Susan went above and beyond what she had to do. She was the only help I had getting my parents home cleaned and emptied so I could sell. I live in Sacramento and didn’t have the time to get down to San Carlos. She truly was a “God Send”. She is FABULOUS! I can’t say enough about her! Please know you have one hell of a woman working for Prudential. Please make sure she receives kudos for a job well done!”
– Andrew R.
“Susan was always available to us, providing information and assurance during the selling process of our home. Thank You!
– Leo & Carlotta O.
“We felt very relaxed and trusted their personality.”
– William & Helen G.
“They did an excellent job and we would recommend them!
– Steve & Stacy G.
“Thank you – Flawless Service!”
– Danielle C. & Thomas G.
“I will recommend them to all my friends and family.”
– Diane S.
“We wanted to work with Sabrina. She was wonderful. She put up with lots of emotions / family dynamic around the sale of this home, as it was our families house. I appreciated her sensitivity and solid knowledge. We would be happy to work with her again and pass along any new clients as well.
– Nancy R.
“I highly recommend them!”
– Derek H.
“Susan helped us so much. She advised us and “rode” with us though the entire ordeal. She is a very “real” person and shares concerns. She advises and makes one feel extremely comfortable. I would recommend her to another person unconditionally. She is an excellent agent who goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
– Russ & Elena H.
“They are such real / genuine people. I felt I could lean and trust them particularly with some very important but difficult to understand questions. They are WONDERFUL!”
– Patricia P.
“Susan has impeccable integrity, what a great individual. Thank you for a wonderful transaction.”
– Pamela G.
“What a great experience. I live 4 hours away and shopping for rentals is not easy. The Caton Team made my shopping experience less stressful. Always ready to answer any questions I had, anytime I had them. I highly recommend this Team.”
– Julienne E.
The Real Estate Beat 
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