| Attention all Interior Designer Wannabees | April 27th, 2007 |
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Are you addicted to Dwell Magazine? Does the idea of arranging furniture excite you? Do you have that special knack for creating clean modern spaces? If you answered “yes” to all three questions, then you need to check out the interior design contest sponsored by Dwell and The Infinity— The Infinity is a luxury high-rise condo building rising up near the foot of Folsom Street. They are seeking interior design proposals for three of their two-bedroom condos. The winners will get to execute their vision with the help of the Infinity’s Design Center staff. Dwell calls The Infinity a ‘bold new architectural statement rising in SOMA.” The building’s hallmarks are curved exterior walls made of floor-to-ceiling glass. Dwell’s aim is to find a design that will reflect the unique experience of bringing the outdoors in. The fine print of the contest rules gives you a $75,000 budget and three different floor plans to work with. Wall coverings are included in the budget. Flooring is paid for but you are limited to choices offered by the Infinity’s Design Center. You aren’t allowed to meddle with the standard cabinetry, countertops and appliances, and you don’t get to move around walls and reconfigure the space. All materials, furnishings and accessories need to be available for purchase by November 1. Basically, this sounds like a chance to do a lot of wild furniture and home accessory shopping on somebody else’s dime. It could be fun if you have the time. For details, logon to: Dwell’s Infinity Contest Page |
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Hello My Favorite People! This posting is for interior designer wannabes. . .| Rules for Transferring Your Property Tax Basis if You are Over 55 | April 20th, 2007 |
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California’s Prop 60, allows those who are over 55 to transfer their property tax base to a new home. This means that if you paid $200,000 for your home in 1990 and are now 55 or older, you can sell your home and buy another one, but keep your property tax bill tied to the original $200,000 valuation. I hardly paid attention when voters passed Prop 60 in 1986, but back then it was hard for me to imagine turning 55! But now that many of my contemporaries and clients are at or past that milestone, it’s worth revisiting the rules for Prop 60: Digging up an up-to-the-minute interpretation of Prop 60 rules is a little difficult, and I’m not a tax expert—you should verify everything I’m saying here with your CPA or tax attorney: Here’s what you should keep in mind when considering Prop 60: Rule 1: When you sell the original property you have to be at least 55. If you are married, just one of you has to be 55 in order to qualify. Corollary to Rule 1: You can only transfer your tax rate once during your lifetime. A spouse who has used this exemption before ‘taints’ both spouses. Rule 2: You can buy your replacement home within two years before or after the sale of the original residence. Rule 3: Your replacement home must cost less than the home your sell. Corollary to Rule 3: If you buy New Home 1st; then sell the Old Home, you must go down in price. If you sell the Old Home first then buy the New Home, you can go up 5% on the purchase price within first year and 10% up on purchase price in the second year. Some of my clients are asking about Prop 90, which is tied to Prop 60. Prop 90 allows counties to elect to accept transfers of Prop 13 values for moves from other counties. For example, using Prop 90, you can sell your $900,000 San Francisco home with its assessed value of $80,000 and move to a new $800,000 home in San Mateo; the new San Mateo assessed value will be $80,000. Very few counties accept Prop 90— according to what I could find online, only Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Ventura are gracious enough let you get away with the lower property tax rate. Counties that used to participate but have since dropped out are Contra Costa, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Modoc, Monterey, and Marin. ******************************************* Ready to trade down, move up or move on? I’d love to help! Call me today for information about the current market and how we can make your transition to a new home smooth and easy! |
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Hello My Favorite People!| Two Offers in Two Days– Close in Two Weeks | April 12th, 2007 |
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But wait– we have more. If you’re in love with the Bellaire, I have another one bedroom available in the building which isn’t on the open market– a third floor unit (900+ square feet) with stunning upgrades and Golden Gate Bridge views. Price is $729,000. Call me and I’ll get you in right away! |
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My listing at the Bellaire Tower at 1101 Green Street (see my listings section for the yummy photos) received two offers within hours of hitting the market. We have an accepted contract and expect to close in two weeks.| Another New Listing | April 10th, 2007 |
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Outer Noe — 447 28th Street. Single family Marina Style home. 3br/2.5 bath. Big master bedroom, one car parking. $1,350,000. This is a great location, just two-and-a-half blocks from the Outer Church Street restaurant district.. . . which has some of the City’s top eateries, like Incanto (great suckling pig and roasted goat!), Alice’s (slightly upscale Chinese in lovely airy setting), and Lovejoy’s Tea Parlor.| New Listings Not Yet On Market | April 10th, 2007 |
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I love Park Hill for the same reasons I love The Bellaire Tower– 1920s Mediterranean architecture, thick plaster walls, high ceilings, elegant tall windows. . . the common areas make my hear go pitter-pat, with a sun deck that has drop dead views of the City and a party room that was once a chapel with the original stained glass windows. If you’re an open house addict, this is an address worth checking out. |
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The next few entries discuss some yummy stuff Paragon is putting on the market in the next two weeks:Park Hill at 355 Buena Vista East– One-Bedroom Condo overlooking Buena Vista Park $630,000.
