| Tax Savings Can Help Pay For Seismic and Solar Upgrades | November 18th, 2008 |
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Proposition N will increase the real property transfer tax rate to 1.5 percent for the sale of real estate selling for $5 million or more, and extend the transfer tax to real estate lease of 35 years or more. This part of the proposition is mostly aimed at sales of large commercial pieces of real estate, although it will also affect the upper-end luxury housing market. More significantly to Sellers of SF residential property, Proposition N will reduce the transfer tax for your property by up to 1/3 if you have installed a solar system or made improvements ot increase earthquake safety. On a $1M sale, this would equal a savings of $2,266.00. On a $5M sale (investment property owners, take note!), this could equal a $25,000 savings! It’s unlikely that for a small property owner these savings would pay for an entire solar system, but they could cover some simple seismic upgrades. If San Francisco follows Berkeley’s lead about which upgrades qualify (Berkeley has incentivized owners to retrofit since 1992), then credit will be given for foundation repair or replacement, mudsill repair or replacement, wall bracing in basements, foundation-to-mudsill bolting, shear wall installation, water heater anchoring, and securing of chimneys. If you are planning on doing any of the above listed work, keep your receipts and check about getting permits. The City may not allow simple handyman jobs to qualify without proper documentation. |
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Two real estate related propositions passed this month. Proposition M set up new categories and descriptions of tenant harassment by landlords, and clarified what harrassment meant with | Pets in Condos? Yes We Can! | November 12th, 2008 |
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Many older Homeowner Association (”HOA”) have written restrictions on pets. But a law effective January 1, 2001 required that any time an HOA generated new governing documents or amended or modified existing documents, the HOA had to allow each owner to have at least one pet. (Civil Code 1360.5) “Governing documents” includes CC&R’s, bylaws, and rules and regulations of the HOA. Allowable pets are any domesticated bird, cat, dog, aquatic animal kept with an aquarium, or other animal as agreed to between the HOA and the owner. A more recent law, which became effective on July 1, 2006 (Civil Code 1363.03,) requires all HOA’s to modify their rules regarding HOA elections. As a result, many HOA’s did modify their rules to comply with this new requirement. So, if an HOA has changed elections rules to comply with this law, they may be unable to prohibit pets in the complex. The state’s opinion is that when an HOA makes the required elections rule changes, it triggers the change that requires HOA’s to allow one pet per owner. While such an opinion does not carry the force of law, it is persuasive and may indicate how courts will rule in the future. A problem can occur if a particular HOA has not yet changed its elections rules (so as to comply with CC 1363.03), and a buyer or existing homeowner wants to have a pet in the unit. Theoretically, the homeowners (with the encouragement of an owner or new buyer after close of escrow) could compel the Board of Directors of the HOA to make the mandated rules change regarding elections, which then would trigger the requirement to allow one pet in each unit. Buyers can also try to push the issue if they are considering the purchase of a unit that doesn’t allow pets. If a buyer is demanding to be allowed to have a pet in the unit, their agent can forward the request to the HOA and ask the HOA to respond as to their position on pets in the unit. If the HOA is still maintaining a ‘no pets’ policy your buyer can insist that they have a right to a pet and hire an attorney to contest the matter after close of escrow. But keep in mind that this could be a protracted (and perhaps expensive) legal battle. |
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A recent change to a law will have the effect of making it easier, and more common, for condo owners to have a pet.| Places Where You Can Safely Take Your Aunt To Lunch | September 3rd, 2008 |
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My readers tell me they love the postings about places to see and visit in San Francisco– even ones who have lived here for years enjoy being reminded of forgotton nooks and crannies. With that in mind, here’s a posting about SF dining that may jog your memory about some cool places to eat. ******************** Realtors tend to be big foodies. We eat out a lot and we fancy ourselves very up-to-the-minute about which restaurants are in or out of favor. I’m personally not a huge food fanatic, but I love a really nice dinner out in a great, fun new restaurant. But. . . when relatives visit, I’m often frustrated by their culinary timidity. Dim Sum overwhelms them and restaurants with things like bacon ice cream and duck fat french fries are out of the question. Even so, once they’re done trying out Scoma’s or Aliotos on Fisherman’s Wharf, they want to try someplace the natives frequent, where they can feel like a bit of an insider. If you have relatives like mine and want to take them someplace where you can all enjoy the meal, here are some “oh-my-gosh-I-totally-forgot-about-that-place-its-great” restaurants: Tadich Grill Tadich is one of the places my Dad took me when I was a kid when we were having ‘father-daughter time. Today, when I enter Tadich I’m transported to the glamour and style of the past. Its old-world atmosphere, with dark wood paneling, 80-foot mahogany bar, and natty staff in shirts and waistcoats always makes me expect to see Herb Caen or Dashiell Hammett pop out of one of the booths any minute to surprise me. I love the waiters at Tadich. They are funny, polite, efficient, and often Croation (no I don’t know why). They will happily deliver any cut of meat or fish just the way you want, be it charcoal broiled, grilled, poached, or baked to perfection. If you’re really up for playing tourist guide afterwards, you can all jump on the California Street cable car right outside for a trip up Nob Hill. Greens I love how Green’s unassuming front door next to the City’s Yacht Harbor opens up to wide open space that always bowls me over with a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge, framed by swaying masts and bobbing boats. On sunny weekends, a brunch at Greens can be followed by a scenic walk along the Marina green and shoreline. You can also take your visitors to walk off the calories on nearby Chestnut Street. Momos I stay away from Momos like the plague during a ball game, but any other time of the week it’s a great place to power lunch and a perfect choice for sports fans who want to make a pilgrimage to our beloved ball park. The superb front patio deck takes in a view of the Embarcadero, the Ball Park and the South Beach Harbor, and is a great place to people watch. Momo’s indoor dining room offers the same spectacular outlook, along with an open kitchen, wood-fired oven, and busy earnest staff. BTW, on non-game days, MoMo’s offers the entire restaurant for special events, and can hold up to 400 for cocktails. For smaller groups of 125 or less, there’s a “Hall of Fame” room, lined with oil paintings of the Giant’s famous stars in action. LuLu Including LuLu right after MoMos may make me seem a bit SOMA/South Beach eccentric, as well as inclined towards cutesie names. But I include it because it’s one of my favorite ‘forgotten’ restaurants– and a solid choice for foodies and conservative eaters alike. Lulu opened in 1993, when the Yerba Buena complex was still an apple in San Francisco’s eye and open kitchens with wood-fired ovens seemed very cutting edge. Today, it still feels fresh and new, with consistently good food that continues to meet the high standards set by San Francisco’s fine dining crowd. Lulu’s central restaurant area is noisy and showy, with raised tables, a long crowded bar, and open kitchen. I love Lulu most for its reliability. When I met a girlfriend there last week for lunch, it was exactly what I expected. Fun, easy, casual and elegant, with great food and good service. |
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| Now that the Olympics are Over. . . AIA’s Annual Festival for Architecture and the City | August 29th, 2008 |
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The programs to choose from are endless. There’s something for everyone here. The ones that caught my attention are: Exhibit: Urban Re:Interventions Lecture: Building Green in San Francisco: New Incentives and New Requirements Under the Bay Bridge Boat Tour: Movie: The Art & Science of Renzo Piano Family Tours and Art-Making Workshop at Contemporary Jewish Museum Food: DZINE ******************************
You must register for all events. Space is limited. Logon to the AIASF website for more information. |
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But the centerpiece of the festival (at least for me) is the Living Homes Tour– which offers design enthusiasts an inside look into the world of distinctive Bay Area residences in San Francisco. Projects are showcased with the designer(s) via an open house format, and tour participants get to some of the city’s latest residential projects from the inside out. Saturday’s tour concentrates on homes in the Mission, Noe Valley and Potrero Hill, as well as a tour of the Arterra condominiums. Sunday’s schedule is more focused on Pacific Heights, although a home in Sausalito is included, along with a tour of the new Salvation Army Community Center in the Tenderloin.| San Francisco’s Going to the Goats | August 6th, 2008 |
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Here’s the description of the job they’re bidding out: Clear brush, shrubs, plants, weeds from 22 acres of property at Laguna Honda Hospital. . . must be performed by goats and supervised by goatherders (sp) who will stay on site with the goats to monitor cutting activity, moving fences and goats. This price to include all transportation, fencing, monitoring, herders, and all other charges pertaining to proper care and handling of these animals. The city to be held harmless for any loss of goats, theft or otherwise. This brings up all kinds of questions. Do the goatherds bring the goats in and out everyday or are they allowed to sleep with them like they do in the Bible and Joanna Spyri’s ‘Heidi?’ Is there a limit to the number of goats you can bring in? How long should this job take? And how hard is it to find a good goatherd these days? |
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This is an ‘only in San Francisco’ story: Laguna Honda Hospital is competitively bidding out the task of brush clearing and is seeking a good, qualified goatherd complete with flock to complete the task. (Yes, goatherd is one word– and yes, you spell it without an ‘er’ at the end– at least according to dictionary.com).| San Francisco Bucks the Starbucks Closures | July 18th, 2008 |
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So far there are only two slated closures in San Francisco– one at the SF Centre and one at The Metreon. Beyond the City, only nine more will be shutting down within the Bay Area. Starbucks has begun to spill the beans on which stores will be going and there’s a partial ist of all planned closures on Starbuck’s site. The list will grow longer as the company finalizes which stores will be going. |
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When Starbucks announced it was closing 600 stores that seemed like a lot. But when you think it through, that’s really only twelve stores in each state. Given that there seems to be a gazillion Starbucks all over San Francisco already, I doubt that any of the ones I’m familiar with will be targeted.| San Francisco’s Walkability Factor | July 17th, 2008 |
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Walkscore.com, used an algorithm to identify those neighborhoods boasting the most amenities per person. San Francisco scored the highest overall with a ‘walkability’ score of 86 out of 100. A walkable neighborhood, according to the site has:
On the page featuring San Francisco, Walkscore rates neighborhoods within the City. Chinatown gets the highest score of 99. Lakeshore gets the lowest with 66. Within this range the rankings get a little screwy– I’m mystified why SOMA ranks above Noe Valley and wonder where Walkscore thinks people living downtown go grocery shopping. Walkscore’s ultimate goal is to see their site’s scores included in a property’s listing information. Says Mike Mathieu, the site’s founder: “What we see is someone calling up a broker and saying ‘I want three bedrooms, two baths, a walkability score of 85, what’ve you got?’” I think my answer would be, “Can we start this conversation over?” Seriously, San Francisco is a very walkable City– but if you want to learn which San Francisco neighborhoods have goods and services truly close at hand, just call me. I can save you a lot of time and confusion. |
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So some scientists with a computer program and a bunch of (very flat) metro maps have decreed that San Francisco is the nation’s most walkable City. Clearly, these guys don’t understand our topography.| Rent Your Driveway By The Day, By The Night, Or By The Hour | July 17th, 2008 |
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Why didn’t I think of this? There’s a new website, GottaPark.com that works as a sort of StubHub for parking spaces. If you have a spare driveway available for an afternoon or evening you can post it for rent on GottaPark. Drivers seeking a space set up an account on the site and use a credit card to pay for the space. GottaPark’s fee is 15% of the driveway owner’s take. If the charge is $5.00 or less, the website’s fee would be 60 cents. I cruised the site to see what might be available this Saturday night. The site just went live on Tuesday and I think owners are still testing values. There were a half dozen spaces available with rates that ranged from $6.00 near the Daly City border to $20 for a prime location on Russian Hill or the heart of the Castro District. San Francisco officials warn that people renting driveway spaces could be subject to citation if cars block sidewalks– so make sure to parallel park across the curb cut. I think this might catch on. And those lucky enough to own driveways within two blocks of Golden Gate Park can look forward to cashing in next month when Outside Lands comes to town. If you would rather take your chances on finding a space in North Beach or downtown, San Francisco wants to improve your odds of finding a legal one. Starting this fall, the City plans to try out some ’smartphone technology’ which will help your cell phone sniff out little sensors that signal when metered spaces are vacated. http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/15/san-francisco-to-test-wireless-parking-sensors-cause-rat-races/ |
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| The Gas Guzzler In Front Of Al And Tipper’s House | July 17th, 2008 |
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The latest is a San Francisco Business Times (SFBT) report on veteran NFL broadcaster John Madden’s condo purchase at the St. Regis. Public records state he paid $2.6M for the 1,805 square foot unit, which was $200,000 under asking. The big question for SFBT is where Madden will park his ‘Madden Cruiser,’ the deluxe motor coach he’s used to crisscross the country for the past 30 years. A permanent case of claustrophobia has made plane travel impossible for the sportscaster, and his custom-built bus is a lifestyle necessity. We usually ask our buyers who have larger cars to test the parking space before they buy their new home. I’m sure, though, that Mr. Madden knew that there was no space large enough in the hotel/condo tower parking lots before he made the down payment. And I’ll lay odds that his driver just drops him off and takes care of this little problem. More interesting to me is that Al and Tipper Gore, who bought at the St. Regis when it was brand new in 2005, are now Madden’s neighbors. And the vision of an idling tour bus, emblazoned with an ad for Outback Steakhouse, right outside Al and Tipper’s front door is pretty funny, at least to me. |
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It seems that everywhere I look I see another local story about parking, driving or gas prices. Clearly these topics are near and dear to the hearts of San Franciscans these days.| If You Want A Big Scare. . . | July 11th, 2008 |
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The first one shows the City’s seismic hazard zones. Be patient- it took about 45-60 seconds to download. This map shows areas susceptible to slides as well as where the liquefaction zones are. The second is the USGS Earthquake Susceptibility Map for the entire Bay Area. It’s not as easy to read on a street level as the first map, but it does grade the entire bay area into 5 different zones from very high to very low danger. Deciding whether to buy in ‘earthquake country’ hinges on your attitude and how educated you are on the matter. If earthquakes scare you to death no matter what, you probably shouldn’t buy in the Bay Area- and you maybe shouldn’t live here either. If you are prepared to take the risks of living with the possibility of earthquakes, understanding what liquefaction means and how different kinds of construction respond to it will help you decide where and what you want to live in. We have an earthquake guide that we provide to all our buyers, which has a lot of good information on these topics. I have what many might call an overly laissez-faire attitude towards earthquakes. I’ve lived in the Bay Area all my life and have experienced dozens of tremors over the years, including the 1989 Loma Prieta, which I admit was a near-death experience for me. The aftermath was also frightening, especially in the Marina District, which was essentially uninhabitable for many weeks. For years after Loma Prieta, real estate north of Lombard was a very tough sell. The buildings that suffered the most damage from Loma Prieta were ’soft-story’ apartment buildings situated on corners with garages on both sides. With lots of open space and few walls on the first floor these kinds of structures were highly susceptible to collapse. Some smaller brick buildings were also severely damaged, particularly South of Market. Today, most older buildings at a minimum have bolted foundations, which help keep the structures from jumping off their foundations. Corner buildings in the Marina have also generally been reinforced to prevent collapse. And the City passed a law that required all brick buildings to be reinforced with steel beams. The City also passed stringent new building codes post Loma Prieta, which they further strengthened (no pun intended) after the 1994 Northridge quake. Brick foundations remain a concern– and some properties built before 1906 still have them. I used to see brick foundations all the time when I started selling real estate in 1986. Now they aren’t so common, as owners over time have replaced them with concrete. Others have chosen to cap the brick with concrete, which helps, but isn’t the perfect solution. My last home had a brick foundation and the house I live in now has a mixed foundation of brick, capped brick and concrete. I’m aware that this isn’t ideal and plan on eventually correcting this very expensive problem. I also live in a liquefaction zone, but choose not to lose sleep over it. This may seem naieve, but it’s an attitude I share with thousands of others, who have all decided it’s worth the risk. |
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Following are two links to maps that outline geological conditions in San Francisco.
