While you may believe that because you live in the middle of the block (so no access to yard except after hopping three fences), that you have an inner and outer locking front doors (see Part 2 for more info on locks), you are religious (approaching fanatical) about locking your windows and doors and have someone moving your mail in while you are out-of-town, YOU CAN STILL BE THE VICTIM OF A HOME BURGLARY!
I would strongly recommend having a home burglary alarm installed–even if the police don’t get to the scene for 4-5 minutes, the screeching noise will at least deter the burglar from taking his time stealing your belongings. The benefits dramatically outweigh the costs (be aware of special discounts, such as USAA membership, or AAA membership), which can start as low as $500 (for do-it-yourself type kits) and go on up. There are likely several companies in your area that offer these services, but by far the largest is ADT. Do a little research, choose the best one that fits your budget, and don’t dilly-dally!
Attention condominium Buyers, post Lehman Bros., how many of your agents have shown, let alone spoke with you about TICs ? I’m guilty of avoiding TICs as well, but I feel that it’s now time to change the negative attitude that agents and their clients have towards them. TICs are priced lower than their condominium counterparts but in speaking with Buyers and agents, price itself isn’t the issue. The simple answer for why TICs are not recommended and/or avoided by agents is due to the increased gap in interest rates between TICs and condominiums.
Due to agents’ recent dismissal of TICs a disservice to clients has been occurring.  Most agents aren’t exhausting every option and finding the best scenarios for their Buyers. There are creative ways to get clients into an amazing TIC home, in a great neighborhood with competitive rates i.e. 161 Castro St. 161 Castro St. features 8 new TIC flats with fractional financing at approx. 6.8%. That rate seems good but not great. Yet with the buy-down that is offered on these units the effective rate drops to a very competitive 5.25%. But most agents would never know due to the fact that they failed to click that little box next to TIC during the property search. I think it’s time to start checking that box again.
Location, Location, Location, and we love the newest Mission address at 2200 Mission Street . These 23 new condos have been on the market for 2 weeks now and offers one to four bedrooms along with seven floor plans to choose from. If you’re looking for value and a central location, 2200 Mission offers both. 1 bedrooms start at $449,000 (approx. 775 square feet), 2 bedrooms start at $519,000 (approx. 850 square feet), 3 bedrooms at $599,000 (1150 square feet), and 4 bedrooms, yes I repeat 4 bedrooms, at $674,000 (1400 square feet). Some residents offer views and multiple patios. My favorite, and I believe there’ll be a consensus on this one, is the gorgeous 360 degree views atop the roof deck. The HOA dues range in the high $300’s-1 bedrooms to the low $500’s for the 4 bedrooms.
The location is central, walking distance to Dolores Park and great restaurants on “restaurant row” such as Farina & Delfina, and our local favorite bakery Tartine. Or you can cross Mission St. and chow down at the famous pupuseria, Balompie for authentic Salvadorean comida.
This development was delayed for quite awhile and was long awaited. I’ll keep you posted when the first unit goes into contract and how much escrow closes for.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Visit the sales center and let me know what you think!!!
Let me preface this entry by saying, I’m not a regular Gap shopper; I have shopped there from time to time for the basics like a t-shirt or sweatshirt or even a pair of jeans or khakis. They have decent products for a good price. However, I did notice an interesting shopping trait, what I call the “Gap” mentality. (This concept is applicable to almost any retail situation.)
Buyers come in and look, pick out what they like, and even “try it on”. But, then they put it back on the rack because they know it will be on sale soon. They check in periodically to see if the item is still there and what is the new lower price. After 3 price stickers and a handwritten price in red ink, the buyer finally decides to take the plunge when there is some sort of holiday or weekend sale. And if the buyer is lucky, the item in the right size and color, will still be there.
It’s interesting to see how this mentality has crossed over into the San Francisco real estate market. (A new condo project even sent an email using retail marketing lingo, saying they were having a special ”72 Hour Sale” over the long weekend.) Read the rest of this entry »
Just the facts:
Here is data for December 2008 of Single Family Homes and Condos. You may ask: ‘Why the lag time in seeing December data this far into January’? The MLS is, for the greater part, data input by its subscribers and agents. While the listing date or closing date is specific, the data is not reflected until the information is updated into the MLS by the agents (who are sometimes onto the next deal, on vacation or out celebrating a closing!). Check out the data…and then come back for a few further thoughts after the jump:
Condos 2008:
Single Family Homes:
Everybody has a past! Including each of San Francisco’s vibrant neighborhoods. This is the first post in a series that will cover the historical relevance of San Francisco’s many neighborhoods. There are so many of us who work and live in this city not knowing what was here before.
Every day I venture from my home near the ocean to the Mission District where I work. Spending so much time in this rustic neighborhood reminds me of the time I spent traveling to Mexico many times a year to vacation and visit family. Coming into work in the Mission brings me back to those times, with the abundance of familiar smells, shops and products. The Mission can be walked through easily which I love, and I always feel safe with the large quantity of passers-by and friendly, eclectic merchants.
On any sunny day you can pass by Dolores Park and notice a sea of skin enjoying what the park has to offer with amazing views of the city’s skyline. Interestingly, the park itself was once a refugee camp to 1,600 families that were left homeless after the earthquake and fires of 1906. The Mission District was one of the few neighborhoods in the city that was not burned to the ground in the devastating fires that ravaged the city after the quake. I pass by it everyday and I’m grateful to live in this beautiful metropolis most of us call home.
Many of us don’t realize that the Mission Dolores District is the oldest non-native neighborhood in San Francisco and there for its birth place. The Ohlone and Miwok Indians were the first to settle dating back to 700 A.D. Read the rest of this entry »
Word on the street from agents in several different San Francisco real estate agencies is that agents are not changing the status of their listings from ACTIVE to ACTIVE CONTINGENT. Why?  Fear it will fall out of escrow then be tarnished with a “Back on Market Status” inviting a lesser of an offer from the next buyer. Based on the number of units actually showing “active contingent” on a daily basis mixed in with the seemingly stronger activity in the market since the beginning of the year it seems this might be true. This week I sold two lingering condominiums that I quickly put in as contingent. The thought never even crossed my mind as to whether or not to keep as active. I wonder what the impact could mean if one or both did fall out? Two years ago buyers dashed for the “Back on Market” listings, now they wait for them.
If this trend is real, the result is a continuing hesitation from agents, sellers and buyers. However, the proof will be in the sold that should emerge in the upcoming 2-4 weeks.
Interesting enough, 17 sellers left their hearts in the Inner Mission and our neighborhood welcomed 17 new single family homeowners.  In the year 2008 a total of 17 single family homes exchanged ownership in this warm neighborhood. As for multi unit/investment buildings (2 or more units), 32 investment/transactions were made. Welcome to the neighborhood investors and single family home owners!!! You’re gonna love the Mission!!!
Readers/bloggers/buyers/sellers any favorites? Love to hear your feedback!!! I’d have to say my favorite single family home was 2955 22nd St. which sold for $910,000 in May. (I’m a sucker for Victorian Homes and a little biased).
The average sales price for single family homes in the Mission were just a little under $900,000 ($892,656). For those who didn’t invest $900,000 into single family homes, and invested into multi unit buildings-their average sales price were $1,024,621 (2-4 units) and $1,684,609 for 5 plus units. Lucky those growth seeking investors. You’re gonna get a return on your investment. From my viewpoint, you made a wise investment and I’m sure Donald Trump would agree.
Stay tuned readers. I’m off to take a look at those 23 new condos at 2200 Mission, cross street 18th.
TOD is the acronym for Transit Oriented Development. The Urban Land Institute published a book on the San Francisco Bay Area TOD Market Place. They provided recommendations for areas around the Bay that have potential for TOD development. They also touched on best practices for successful TOD projects. San Francisco is home to one of those areas. Catellus developed Mission Bay with the notion that TOD is more than just proximity to transit.
Project success included:
- proximity to transit stations and transit-loading
- walkability
- lasting value
- access to jobs
- culture
- useful amenities
The project in Mission Bay carefully placed homes, jobs, civic uses, shopping, entertainment, parks, and other amenities mostly within a 1/4 mile of a transit stop. Developers as well as individuals looking for future appreciation of their real estate investment should think about the listed best practices when evaluating land or an individual unit. Several tools that could be of use are:
- Metrobot (provides map view of businesses near an address)
- Walkscore (provides a score of how close an address is to amenities)
Real estate, especially San Francisco real estate, is still about “Location, Location, Location” but there are increasing factors in what makes one location better than another for both residential and commercial investment, on any scale. If you have other useful links or sites please feel free to comment. Thank you.
These past few months I have had clients who currently own condos asking me whether they should sell or rent out their property. While each client and their property has their own unique set of circumstances and factors which will ultimately affect that decision, I advised them all of them similarly: make sure they do their homework and know their complex/hoa (home owners association).
First, dig in your files and dust off that set of CCR’s, Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, and if you have them, Rules and Regulations. Generally, there will be a section describing any type of leasing restrictions, the most common of which is a property can not be rented for less than 30 days, i.e. corporate rental. Some hoa’s have an even longer timeframe, no less than one year. This can obviously affect your time frame as you decide when to sell your property. Also, there is generally a notice requirement, where you need to tell the hoa or the other owners, that you are renting your unit.
Due to the current real estate market, a less documented restriction, but a hot discussion topic, is capping the number of total units that can be rented at any one given time. While there are pros and cons to having this restriction, you need to know if your hoa has this restriction to avoid a lot headache. Read the rest of this entry »