My alter ego needs you!

Interested in learning more about East Bay Real Estate but without the National Association of Realtors spin? Well, I might be able to help you out.

Check out writer/journalist Barbara Hernandez's Property Lines, which incorporates original reporting, newsgathering and Web surfing to bring you highlights of the East Bay Housing Market:

By the way, bank-owned properties rarely go for less than 30 percent of asking price. Many have a reserve that is not made public. So any $1,000 bid was probably declined.

Auction Advice: Don't sit on the end of a row, or the front row, if you don't like high-pressure tactics.