Press in the SF Examiner

The San Francisco Examiner agreed with our insights on the beautification of Cesar Chavez Street. They liked our piece so much that they quoted us on page 3 of their Real Estate section! Click here to read it.

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Dolores Park’s New Playground Opens March 31st – Further Park Changes to Come in 2013

Dolores Park has been “loved to death by its community” – a “victim of its own popularity,” according to a March 15th Chronicle article. Fans of the park need not worry, as revitalization plans are in the works and will commence early next year, pending city approval this summer. The newly improved playground opens on March 31st, giving visitors a hint of what’s to come.

How to survive bidding wars in SF

A recent Wall Street Journal article called attention to a “bidding war” over a Noe Valley home. To us, it’s not news. A good home in a good location of San Francisco will always receive multiple offers – especially when it’s intentionally under-priced, as this one was. This home was very appealing and had lots of open space and charm. In our opinion, the buyers did not overpay. When they turn around to sell the house in 5-10 years, they too will receive multiple offers thanks to the innate charm and location of the house.

In San Francisco, homebuyers need to be prepared for multiple offer situations. This is where having a good real estate agent really helps. We know what to expect and prepare our clients accordingly. We estimate the true value of the home and pass along that expertise so our clients can determine whether it’s truly in their price range. If it is, we coach our clients so they submit a successful bid. If it’s not, our clients are happy that they didn’t waste their time, and we’re happy that they didn’t get discouraged.

While the Journal article is right that the SF real estate market is picking up, options still abound at every price point, and we are eager to help our clients find a home that fits their criteria – and budget. Keep in mind that buying a popular property is like buying an insurance policy: a house with that “modicum of charm” is hard to find and will always re-sell quickly, no matter what the market. 34 years of selling real estate in SF confirms that.

Hope in the Bayview neighborhood

5800 3rd Street is breathing new life into the Bayview area. The “troubled” development project’s completion seems to be attracting grocers and restaurants, fostering an environment conducive to increased commerce in the area. According to a New York Times article, the ground floor and roughly 70% of the units in the first building have already sold, and sales for the second building begin this month. With Salesforce’s new campus a straight shot up 3rd Street, it’s worth wondering whether the Bayview could be poised for a boom as businesses vying for Mission Bay clientele continue to move into the neighborhood. Read more.

Before & After: The Power of Good “Vision”

One of our strengths as an agency is the capability to visualize every home’s potential. A simple remodel, paint job or design tweak can make a huge difference in a home’s ambiance (not to mention its perceived value). We help our clients understand what design changes (simple or complex) can be made to create their ideal home. Our expertise will help you assess the potential each home has (or doesn’t have) and estimate the true cost to getting your dream house (or kitchen, or bathroom).

When we work as listing agents, we use this skill to stage the home in a modern, stylish, and authentic way so potential buyers can envision themselves living there. We want the home to show its absolute best so buyers can see its potential. We’ve captured some before/after photos that do a great job conveying the power of good “vision.” (We’ll admit – using a good camera with a wide-angle lens gives the “After” photos that much more of a punch!)

Living Room:
The living room was one of the places in this house that received a good amount of natural light. We capitalized on that by painting the walls and trim white to enhance the open, airy feeling. It also gave the living room a nice modern feel.

Dining Room:
This home had lovely architectural details including a fireplace in the dining room. We wanted to make those pop while drawing the eye through the windows to the outdoor garden. We achieved this by painting the walls a soft and modern color but highlighting the trim in white. Building on the cues from the outdoor garden, we added green accents and plants to bring the feel of the garden inside.

Kitchen:
We knew that most buyers would want to remodel the kitchen eventually, but we wanted them to feel that the current kitchen was livable. The previous yellow walls drew attention to the stove’s prominent position in the kitchen. We wanted it to feel open, so we painted the room off-white to help the appliances & walls blend together. The color also lends a clean, fresh feeling to the kitchen.

Master bedroom:
The owners were still living in this house while it was on the market, so we simply added art and some decorative pillows to make the bedding pop. A large mirror made the room feel bigger, and a cool, airy color on the walls enhanced the natural light in the room.

Guest bedroom:
There wasn’t a lot of natural light in this room, so we tried to create the feeling of light through an airy paint color. We also capitalized on the room’s architectural details by highlighting them in bright white.

Do I really need a real estate agent? Why?

We are real estate agents so we have a biased point of view! That said, you really do need a really good agent when buying in SF. There are things you just can’t do on your own (even with your iPad). Seeing and evaluating real estate is our job. We offer you expertise and access that you can’t get elsewhere, saving you time & money. Here are some of the things a good agent will do for you.

GET IN TO SEE A PROPERTY RIGHT AWAY

Some properties sell the day after the first open house. Some listing agents delay any offers until a specified date and some take offers “as they come.” Don’t get left out in the cold if you like a place well enough to buy it.  If necessary, connected agents are able to get you in to a property before the first open house.

VISUALIZE A PROPERTY’S POTENTIAL

When you tour a house with brand new appliances and a newly remodeled kitchen, it’s easy to picture yourself in that home – until you see the price tag. But why pay extra for someone else’s kitchen remodel? We help buyers visualize and estimate the cost of their dream house. Knocking down a wall to open up a floor plan is less expensive than you’d think. Real value can be found in fixer-uppers, not to mention the pleasure of getting exactly what you want from a remodel. Get our guide to remodeling projects for more information.

SAVE YOU TIME

There is a lot of property to choose from and you don’t want to waste time on Sunday afternoons. You need to tour properties that fit your criteria. While online realty search sites can be good tools to help you create a quick list of properties you’d like to see, you don’t want to waste time visiting homes with problems that don’t show up in photos or that are inaccurately priced. A good agent has seen the properties and can assess & filter them for you to save you time. For instance, if your price range is up to 800K and a property is listed at 799K but we KNOW it will sell for at least 850K, then why frustrate yourself?

SAVE YOU MONEY

In multiple offer situations (of which there are many in SF), you need to think strategically to win the bid. Generally, the sales price is above the asking price. How much over? You don’t want to leave money on the table but you’d like your bid to be successful. A good agent will help you get to the price that is enough to win the property without overpaying.

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, IDENTIFY PROBLEMS & OFFER SOLUTIONS

Seeing a property online isn’t enough. You have to look at properties in person to know what it’s really like inside. That in person knowledge will help you put prices and possible issues in perspective.  When you look at a listing online, you are seeing an idealized version of the property. What’s it really like? Does it have some sort of a problem? Structural problem? Tenant problem? Homeowner’s Association problem? You need to get answers to these questions in order to understand the right price for a property. If problems are uncovered, a good agent will also be able to help you find contractors and estimate the costs to fix them so you’ll have a complete understanding of the total cost of your new home.

PROVIDE BIG PICTURE COMPARISON – AND CONFIDENCE

While you may see a couple open houses a week, an experienced agent has seen all the homes on the market for years. That adds up to hundreds or even thousands of properties. Not only does this enable us to filter properties to meet your criteria, but it also allows us to give you the big picture comparison that you simply wouldn’t have otherwise. Look for a real estate professional that will take the time to teach you the San Francisco real estate market so that you know that you’ve made a wise decision when it comes time to take the plunge and make an offer on a home. You need to be confident that you’ve gotten the most for your money and have found a property that fulfills most of the points on your wish list.

LEVERAGE OUR RELATIONSHIPS TO YOUR BENEFIT

As we know, properties can be listed purposefully low. Because of this, it’s hard to gain a good understanding of the market by just looking at properties online.  What did they sell for? Knowing is part of your education process and waiting a month or so to find out doesn’t help you on an immediate basis. We can find out what something sold for through our good connections with other agents.

In short, if you want to save time & money, know you got a fair price, and get your dream house, then yes – you need an agent. Contact us to put our experience to work for you.

Will Cesar Chavez Street be the next Valencia Corridor?

San Francisco’s Department of Public Works transformed Valencia and Divisadero Streets into beautiful, bustling hot spots. Is Cesar Chavez Street next?

It’s hard to remember the days before Valencia Street’s bike lanes and Divisadero’s parklets, but hearken back to them and you may recall similarities to the latest street to undergo redevelopment: Cesar Chavez. Like those before it, the DPW’s latest beautification project will replace unsafe streetscapes and drab design with a “safe, inviting, and ecologically sustainable” layout. Slated to complete by early 2013, the improvements could be just the thing to bring Cesar Chavez from down-and-out to up-and-coming.

Bordering Cesar Chavez to the south, the already popular north slope of Bernal Heights and Precita Park are sure to see even more growth if the project is successful. To its north, the project has the potential to expand the commercial borders of the Inner Mission, breathing new life into the blocks nestled between 24th Street and Cesar Chavez. With Cesar Chavez Street as a new destination, these blocks linking it to the Inner Mission could be transformed to create a walkable corridor, enhancing commerce – and real estate – in both areas.

Of course, the success of the project will also depend on local businesses’ faith in the neighborhood. Valencia and Divis enjoyed a perfect storm of beautification plus new business, creating a previously unthinkable level of popularity in these areas. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether local merchants will exhibit the same kind of confidence in Cesar Chavez Street. But given its prime location as a gateway between Silicon Valley and the city (and the current market conditions in SF), Cesar Chavez Street certainly has serious growth potential. For cutting-edge buyers, this could be a golden opportunity.

Contact us for more information.

Is a Tenancy In Common (TIC) right for me?

Tenancy-in-common properties, in which owners buy a percentage or share of a building, are one of San Francisco’s real estate anomalies. TICs came about in response to high demand for homeownership amid low property supply, and they’ve been a unique option for buyers in San Francisco ever since. Traditionally requiring all owners to share one loan, new fractionalized loan products have made TICs seem more appealing – but are they the right choice for you?

TICs can be attractive because they are generally priced lower per square foot than their condominium counterparts. In addition, some TICs allow for the possibility to convert to condominiums eventually, providing the potential for a high return on investment.

Regarding condo conversion, all TICs are not treated equally. In San Francisco, the only buildings eligible to convert to condominiums are 2-6 unit buildings. 2-unit TICs are typically fast-tracked for conversion: after just one year of being owner-occupied, 2-unit TICs can bypass the lottery and begin the process to convert to condos. 3-4 unit TICs can be put into the condo conversion lottery when at least one unit has been owner-occupied for the three immediately preceding years. The number of units that must be owner-occupied increases to three for 5-6 unit buildings. Because of the lottery process and the occupancy requirements, conversion for these properties can be a very long and arduous process and we recommend our TIC clients to comfortable with the very real possibility that the building may never convert.

Potential TIC buyers must also consider loan options. Traditional group loans (where all owners share one loan and all its responsibilities) were popular and worked well when home values were rapidly increasing. Once the market stabilized, these loans presented serious obstacles that gave rise to the newer fractionalized loan options. Fractionalized loans are the TIC equivalent of a condo loan, but the interest rates are typically at least one point higher – and only a few lenders offer this product. These loans are often fixed for 3, 5 or 7 years and then can wickedly adjust. Our concern has always been that this small pool of lenders leads to limited future options when the loans start to adjust. What if fractionalized lending is no longer available or is no longer offered by the same number of lenders? If competition between lenders is reduced, it could severely impact interest rates for these loans. Again, a TIC buyer has to weigh the pros and cons of the risks involved.

TICs: Opportunity or Liability? It has been our experience that TICs really work for 2 kinds of buyers. The first are “nesters”: individuals who have lived in the same location for a long time, whose commitment to living in San Francisco is carved in stone, and who can fairly well predict their future incomes. Other good TIC candidates are the risk-takers: confident buyers who worry less than the rest of us, who just want to be homeowners and who trust that the San Francisco real estate market will always provide potential buyers.

All told, TIC purchases have lots of moving parts; many more than we can adequately summarize in a single blog entry. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Up, Up, and Away…. Mission Dolores House on the Move!

The project involving the old parish building at the corner of Dolores and 15th looks to finally be on the move….  except it appears it’s the house that’s moving first?!

It’s been years since the lot where the old Baptist church once stood was sold along with the dilapidated old parish building (2002).  Since that time, developers have presented plans for a large condo complex with an underground parking structure.  The number of parking spaces was debated along with claims that the parish building was a historical building.  Then the parking issues were resolved and the developers agreed to incorporate the old structure into the plan (see below).

We drove by today and noticed that the old parish house is now up on crates and is adorned with signs for “Solares House Moving”.  So our question is — did the developers succeed in moving the house off the lot? Or are they scooting the house over to the property line to make room for the larger development that will be attached? Maybe they are just lifting the house to make way for a new foundation?  Perhaps the house is being moved off site while they build the parking garage underneath and then it will be set back down in place??!  Check out the photos below and let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Below:  The original “First Southern Baptist Church” in 1953.  According to reports, the progressive Baptist church allegedly received a letter in 1993 from a member of the Aryan Brotherhood who disagreed with the church’s views.  The church was burned to the ground the next day by an arsonist.  Whether or not the two things are related or not seems to have never been made certain.

Below: Photos of the vacant lot and the building as it appeared for almost 10 years after the fire.  Signs at one time promised “Condos coming Fall 2010″.

Below: Plans that were distributed a couple years ago showing the parish house being preserved and the new complex sitting adjacent to the historical structure.

Below:  The house as it appears today, jacked up and ready for the house movers to do their thing, whatever that thing may be!

Hayes Valley is having a moment

While everyone’s been fussing over the Valencia Corridor’s latest crown jewel, sleeper hit Hayes Valley has been blowing up.

Off the Grid just began a Wednesday night food truck meetup at Proxy, the urban shipping container project that has revitalized the area with gems like Smitten Ice Cream and Suppenkuche’s Biergarten. 7×7 touted Nojo, Boxing Room, and Schulzie’s Bread Pudding in their article about the new reasons to hit up SF’s artsiest ‘hood. Building on the hallowed pre-Symphony options like Absinthe and Jardiniere, these new restaurants mark Hayes Valley as an everyday destination. And the hits keep coming – rising star chefs Sarah & Evan Rich plan to open a new restaurant on Gough, adding yet another feather to Hayes Valley’s culinary cap.

Besides the food, Hayes Valley is a haven for haute design, showcasing local designers, clothing boutiques and interior decor. Couple that with the cultural richness supplied by the nearby Opera, Ballet and Symphony – not to mention its walk score of 93 – and it emerges as an iconic San Francisco nabe you’d never need to leave.