Articles
Cutting waste in government
Here’s a heartening story. Three Bay Area agencies are planning on buying a building together to save operating costs and energy. I sure the like the sound of that. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Bay Area Quality Management District and the Association of Bay Area Governments are teaming up to buy a building together. Now all that has to happen, is the board of each needs to approve the purchase. Formerly Pacific Postal Credit Union, the building is at 390 Main St. in San Francisco. As near as I can tell on Google street view, here is the building. Very convenient to the future Transit Terminal. 
Target at Masonic and Geary
According to Socketsite, the Target Store planned for the old Mervyn’s space at Geary and Masonic (and even older Sears Building) was unanimously approved by the San Francisco Planning Department. Politics aside, it seems like a great location and there is certainly the space for it.
City Center; rendering from Socketsite
AT&T U-Verse Boxes given go ahead
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has ok’d AT&Ts proposed U-Verse Box installation without the requirement of an Environmental Impact Study. The boxes are plain ugly and graffiti magnets. 
Shame that AT&T was given the green light without much restriction. Permits are still necessary, so there is likely to be some neighborhood fights left. I imagine ultimately AT&T will get their way and install all they originally planned.
New BART trains
The Bay Citizen gives a sneak peak of what the new (hopefully soon) BART trains will look like.
From 'Bay Citizen' Proposed new BART car
The exterior design is pretty nice looking, albiet MUNI like, but the interior has a bit to be desired. I’m all for getting rid of the comfortable, but terribly dirty and unsanitary seats. The problem seems to be in the amount (and comfort) of seating on the proposed trains. The majority of BART passengers will be on the car for a longish period of time, so making sure there is ample seating should be a priority.
Then of course, there’s this whole budget mess, which is likely to slow down getting the new cars for a while.
West Portal Property Values-Second Quarter 2011
Throughout San Francisco, there is a debate about whether the real estate market is doing well or not. The reality is that some properties are selling quickly with multiple offers over asking, while others are stagnant with price reduction after price reduction. This makes predicting the success of the sale of a specific property a bit more of a challenge. Whether it applies to your property is dependent on where it is, how much it’s listed for, if it is remodeled, or whether buyers in the market place find it desirable. This is true in the hottest neighborhoods and most particularly in the less sought out neighborhoods. Even in West Portal/Inner Parkside, with our lack of supply and stable demand, we have the same considerations, which in recent years has not been the case. 
For the second quarter of 2011, we had nine active, six pending (not yet closed), 14 sold (closed) and no ‘failed to sell’ listings, which indicates that eventually, sellers are really selling.
Of the 14 sold properties, three received multiple offers and six of them sold over their asking price. The amount of over bids ranged from as little as $4,000 to as much as $79,000. As a matter of fact, three of the six properties that sold over their asking price had bids ranging from $51,000 to $79,000 over asking (ranging from five to 10 percent of their list price). The properties had several things going for them: they were remodeled, staged, in a prime location and most importantly, under priced for the market, which created a call to action on the part of the buyer. This is the same strategy used during the dot com era.
Four of the nine properties currently active in the market place have been on the market for over 60 days, with a fifth quickly approaching. Buyers are being very selective, which means that a property with a perceived flaw (such as floor plan, lack of remodeling, or location) gets passed by. For those with flaws, the price needs to be discounted even further to make up for it-buyers are simply not as forgiving as they have been in recent years.
West Portal Avenue
In comparing the days on the market of the active to sold listings in the second quarter, seven of the 14 sold properties took less than 60 days to close from marketing to closing. Time is very important now; getting a listing to sell at or above asking must sell in the first few weeks. Properties that sold below their asking price, saw reductions up to 10 percent.
The second quarter had three distressed properties ( short sales or bank owned ) on the market; one sold, of the other two, one is active, one is pending.
Financing still requires lots of hoops to jump through, particularly on jumbo loans (those with loan amounts over $729,750); qualified buyers are gold.
Property values in the neighborhood have stayed pretty consistently even for the last few quarters for desirable properties. Prices on less desirable properties; those with flaws, have come down more in value. I see this trend continuing for the foreseeable future.
AIDSWalk 25th Anniversary
This last Sunday was AIDSWalk San Francisco’s 25th Anniversary, and coincidently, my 25th Anniversary too. I’ve walked in every walk since it started. It’s a great cause and very easy to do.
Along the route-CA Academy of Sciences
It was a great day for walking-it was cool but not cold and foggy; great for my meditative walk. I got an early start, so I did not walk with my 25,000 closest friends! I started out the day where it all started; at my very first home on Funston Ave. in the Inner Sunset. I was driving by and found a great parking space; fate.
Along the route-setting up for entertainment
According to promoter statistics, the event raised just over $3 million dollars. The numerous benefiting Bay Area AIDS Service Organizations will be greatly helped by these contributions. An interesting statistic: since it’s inception, AWSF has generated $77 Million in donations!
Thanks to my fiercely loyal supporters, I raised over $3,600 to date. There is still time to donate. If you haven’t already donated, please visit my AIDSWalk home page here.
Along the route
Along the route-Spreckels Lake
Loan Modification Scams
With so many people out there in the process, or considering modifying their loans, not surprizingly, loan modification scams are on the rise too. Here are six things you should know to avoid mortgage loan scams.
Setting priorities when buying real estate
I read an interesting blog post some time ago about setting priorities when buying your first home. I couldn’t have said it more clear myself. There’s a great graphic used that is brilliant-I couldn’t have come up with a better way to explain it. Take a look at it here on the Get Rich Slowly blog.
The bottom line is that given the variables of location, price, and condition (or quality as the author, J.D. Roth calls it), you can only have two of them-unless of course you have unlimited funds. I see this every single day without fail. And, no matter how much money you have, the same rules apply. I have never worked with a buyer that didn’t have to give up something when they bought.
Move in and make drinks.
Of course, the mantra ‘Location, location, location’ is the most critical piece of the puzzle. However, location can be subjective. For instance, I typically don’t like busy streets, but a ‘busy-ish street’ in a great neighborhood with an architecturally significant property may work-so that means that the definition can change depending on a client’s needs. (Price + Condition = Location)
A fabulous house for a great price in a marginal location. (Location + Price = Condition)
As for condition, a house with a marginal floor plan or needing significant work in a great neighborhood may be worth taking the remodeling plunge after buying. (Location + Condition = Price)
A little remodeling?
Education on the part of your real estate agent will help you sort through the variables. You can search around the net, dream and rationalize, but the one on one connection with a knowledgeable real estate professional is the best way to make sure you get the best possible property for your money.
Chronicle building gets tenants
Hard times all around. The San Francisco Chronicle is leasing out portions of it’s building at 5th and Mission since their needs are shrinking. There has been a portion rented out for a time to a tech company who is expanding.
From CurbedSF
I had heard that the Chronicle Building was being pursued by developers. Since the financial market for developers is for the time being mostly dead, I guess that idea had to get taken off the table.
