A special thanks to all of our readers and Facebook fans for your support in voting 1SiliconValley.com as the ‘Best San Jose Real Estate Blog’ as sponsored by Zillow’s People’s Choice Awards. As promised, we are raffling an Apple iPad to everyone who voted and commented on our Facebook Fanpage to let us know about their vote.

Before we start the raffle, we wanted to acknowledge a few voters:

The Most Passionate Voter Award goes to Christina Yuen. To say it in Christina’s own words, “Voted! 29%!! talktocj is at 32% – BOO!! I’m rounding people up now. It’s war!”

The Most Dedicated Voter Award goes to Tom Yu who while on a business trip voted all the way from Seoul, Korea. Now that’s Rainmaker dedication!

Apple iPad Raffle Entries

OK, so take a look below. Here is a list of all the voters who commented and voted during the 9-day contest and the corresponding raffle number(s). Numbers assigned based on number of Facebook comments confirming votes (limit one per 24 hr. period).

NAME   and  NUMBERS
Aaron Waldo    1
Adam Abed    2
Allen Choi    3-4
Allen Miu    5
Andrew Wu    6-11
Andy Chen    12
Andy Pan    13-14
Atsuko Yube    15
Avery J Lu    16
Ben Cai    17
Brendan Croom    19-21
Bruce Wong    22-26
Chris Abad    27
Christina Yuen    28-32
Dalan Chan    33-34
Dan Choi    35
Dan Shinn    36
Dan Yang    37
Daniel Kim    38
Daphne Chu    39
Darren Lennemann    40
Dayna Wu    41
Dennis Kwon    42
Eric Liao    43
Ethan Henry    44-45
Eva Tsai    46
Felix Lee    47
Geremy Yamamoto    48
Grant Lee    49
Hua Shao    50
Isabella La    51
Ivan Lee    52
Jackson Luk    53
Jiaying Hou    54
Johnathan Tsou    55
Josephine Phan    56
Joyce Chung    57
Julie Fiscus    58
Kaela Hwang    59-60
Kara Okamoto    61-63
Lucia Cheng    64
Luukim Duong    65-67
Marc Biondolillo    68-70
Mark Louie    71-72
Mark Wang    73
Michelle Lin    74
Nancy Domich    75
Nancy Yuen    76-78
Peter Liang     79
Rajeev Golamudi    80
Rick Wang    81
Rob Schulze    82
Scott Yu    83
Steve Kim    84-85
Sue Tsai    86
Tim Yuen    87-94
Tom Yu    95-96
Vicki Kuan    97
Wendy Jones    98
Yu Linda Song    99-101

Now that you know your number, click on the video below to find out if you’re a winner of a new Apple iPad!

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Here’s how to get started:

STEP 1: Click on the ‘Best Blog Nominee’ logo below and vote for 1SiliconValley.com (only one vote per 24 hour period) through Wednesday August 25, 2010. (Flash required, sorry!)

STEP 2: Visit Rainmaker Properties Facebook Page and make a comment on the Facebook FanPage to let us know that you voted each day!

STEP 3: IF 1SiliconValley.com wins the “San Jose Best Blog Award”, each of your daily comments/votes (limit one raffle entry per day) will be entered into a raffle to have the chance to win an Apple iPad.

Contest and raffle subject to the following Rainmaker Properties Best Blog Contest Official Rules.

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Rainmaker Property’s own Ceci Ellis presents our newest listing in Belmont, California!

Located in the beautiful Belmont Estates. Video Produced by Alvin Shen.

Best of Belmont Estates – Fabulous, executive home with bay views adjacent to park and just steps from hiking/jogging trails and tennis courts — the perfect home for the active family who enjoys the outdoors and entertaining. This large, single story home features an open floor plan with cathedral ceilings in living, dining, family and master bedroom, a large walk-in pantry and walk-in closet in master suite. The over-sized, totally useable lot includes a back yard with both patio and lawn areas and a big side yard off the dining room perfect for an additional secluded patio and/or storage space for RV or boat. download Shaun of the Dead

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Automobile enthusiasts will appreciate the 3-car garage which is large enough for 3 full-sized cars, a large workshop area or a combination of cars, lots of extra storage and workshop.

Belmont Estates is a private enclave of executive homes surrounded on three sides by parks and open space without any through traffic where rabbits, deer and raccoons are among the neighbors. All conveniently located just minutes from highways 280 and 92, shopping centers and schools – yet a world away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life.

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Special Features of this home:

*2,210 sq. ft. of living area
*7,800 sq. ft. useable lot
*Coveted single story Carlmont model with large walk-in pantry
*4 bedrooms and 2 full baths
*Spacious kitchen with large eating area, breakfast & wet bar
*Master suite with cathedral ceilings, walk-in closet and sliding glass doors to patio
*Dramatic courtyard entry with double doors
*Bay views from living and dining room
*Dining room with sliding glass doors to side yard/patio area
*3-car garage
*Backs to open space
*Adjacent to park, hiking/jogging trails and tennis courts
*Convenient to highways 280 and 82, shopping and schools
*Great Belmont schools including Fox Elementary, Ralston Middle and Carlmont High
*Freshly updated with new paint, carpet and copper pipes

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Rainmaker Properties presents our newest listing.

Huge town home located in the highly desired Mountain View neighborhood of Cuernavaca. Presented to you by Alex Wang. Video Produced by Alvin Shen.

Private Mediterranean villa in beautiful gated Cuernavaca complex. This luxury home is perfect for entertaining, relaxing in the private, wraparound, lush yard or enjoying the country club complex amenities such as tennis courts, pool, sauna or spa.

In addition to many designer touches, this home features an open floor plan with cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, large cook’s kitchen with top end appliances, a lavish master suite and more.

Features of this home include:

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*4 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths, approximately 2,493 sq. ft.
*Lavish, totally private yard & patio
*Cathedral ceilings
*Fireplaces with gas starters in family room and master bedroom
*Hardwood floors in living, dining, kitchen and family room
*Cook’s kitchen with granite counters and top line appliances including Jenn air cook top & ovens
*Maple kitchen cabinets with built-in wine rack
*Family room with state of the art built-in entertainment speaker system
*Romantic master suite with balcony, fireplace, large soaking tub and heated marble bathroom floors
*Custom window coverings
*New ADT alarm system
*Huff Elementary, Graham Middle and Mt. View High Schools

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Do you have a question about Real Estate? Need help trouble shooting? Or weren’t sure who to ask? Let us help!

Submit your question here and if we pick it as our “question of the week”, as a thank you for participating; you’ll win a free gift card (i.e. Starbucks, Movies, Lowe’s, Etc) on us!

And be sure to visit us at our Rainmaker Facebook Page

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, where we’ll post the answers to all your questions. Rainmaker will be regularly rolling this out as your questions come in, so ask away!

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Agent interview regarding the sale of Porpoise Bay Terrace, one of the largest townhouse floorplans (Waterford end unit 2000+ sq. ft.) located in the highly desired Traditions community in Sunnyvale. Chemical Wedding dvd

What was biggest challenge in selling this home?

Alex: I think the biggest challenge was knowing that my  client and I were working in an active and fluid buyer’s  market. In this type of market, there was a need to be  patient and disciplined to wait for the right buyer to come  along. We had an initial offer that took about a week of  negotiations resulting in the sellers actually agreeing to the  buyers price, however the buyer got a case of ‘buyer’s  remorse’ and decided to hold off. Instead of worrying that      that would be the only buyer we would have, we kept at it,  marketing the property, and we got a better and higher  offer only a week later. Being patient was key for both myself and my clients.

As a Realtor, how did your role play out in this particular home sale?

Alex: The 40 Year Old Virgin movies Well, when considering the transaction as more of a relationship, I don’t see my job description just limited to selling the home. There are other aspects that I need to pay attention to and sellers and agents have to realize that this is a team effort. For this particular instance, the sellers were already dealing with a move to their new home, so that had their hands full. I did what I could to alleviate the stress on the listing side by stepping out of a traditional “that’s not my job” role and try to help the owners with any problems that came about.  If me and my team can do something to help our clients, we will get it done.

What were the key factors in selling this home?

Alex: A couple factors helped facilitate a smooth sale and good price. Staging homes to sell are a definite must. Staging can help not only increase the price of the offers your receive, but also the quality of the offers as well. Another factor was keeping cool during negotiations and being firm on our target price. In order to do this, we needed good local knowledge of the Sunnyvale real estate market.

What was one thing you could’ve done better?

Alex: I would have preferred listing our home price a little lower than our initial offer price. Because we set it a bit higher, it added 2 weeks to our market time. Eventually, when we dropped it closer to market value or the sale of a recent comparable, we saw an increase in traffic and which ultimately resulted in buyers making offers.

What charity did these clients choose to support?

Alex: My clients recently had a friend start a non-profit called Future Hope in Seattle, Washington. Though we usually donate to local charities, this non-profit seeks to educate and empower children in the Third world. We felt this was a great mission and we donated ten percent of our gross commissions to this cause.

To read the seller’s testimonial and other client’s experience with Rainmaker Properties, please visit us at Yelp.com

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Hey everyone,

Alex Wang needs your help! HGTV and Rainmaker Properties are looking for someone that fits a criteria for a new Home series. (Anyone that qualifies will be compensated from HGTV handsomely)

Here are the details…

ARE YOU, or DO YOU KNOW: A couple, family, or individual that is being uprooted from one city, town, country location to another?

Examples) -City to country: Palo Alto to Tulsa, Oklahoma
-Country to city: the open range of Texas to San Jose condo
-Abroad to America: London to Mountain View
-American — Abroad: Oakland to Costa Rica
-Apartment to house: San Francisco to Sprawling home in Georgia Suburbs
-Mainland to Island: Dublin/Pleasanton to Hawaii

IF YOU KNOW OF A CANDIDATE; PLEASE REPLY TO THE RAINMAKER FANPAGE! THANKS!

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Seeking high-energy home buyers who are saying goodbye to their hometowns, totally picking-up, and moving to a new place where everything is different. Whether they’re moving from the mountains to the ocean, a major city to the country, or making a move overseas, HGTV wants to hear your story.

Requirements:
-The clients must have begun the closing process on their new home or will be closed mid September ‘09
-Their old home must not immediately be occupied (unless current residents would allow filming)
-They must not be moving because of retirement or military reasons.
-Price range must be between 400k to 1 million. Snakes on a Plane video

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This charming, Burlingame Park, 20’s bungalow, sits in the prestigious Burlingame school district. This classic home is located across from Primrose Avenue and a is just a few short blocks from Burlingame Avenue boutiques and restaurants.

Classic features include:
*Hardwood floors
*9 foot ceilings
*Huge living & dining room
*Large kitchen
*Basement
*Archways
*Ceiling fans
*Detached 1-1/2 car garage
*Long driveway w/ lots of off street parking
*4 bedrooms plus den/office; Or 5th bedroom w/o closet
*Laundry room
*2 full baths with one bathroom updated

Additional features:
*Zoned R3
*Burlingame School District
*Adjacent to Burlingame Avenue
*Easy access to SamTrans bus line & Caltrain Station

What’s most exciting about this property is its sheer unlimited potential as a restoration project/renovation as charming, single family home. Divide the existing structure into a duplex or build a brand new multi-family property. Check with City of Burlingame for specific information on possible uses.A Knight’s Tale film

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Thanks to all our friends and fans who helped us break our first marker of 100 fans this week!

We’re excited to be rolling out new and great contests, providing you with great news with all things Real Estate for the SF Bay Area and beyond.

Congrats to all the winners!

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